Take a Chance on Me
by dhbPATHWAY1997
Summary: Kyo has all of his courage worked up! He's going to tell Tohru how he feels...! Then that stupid rat has to come along and ruin it! How is Kyo going to win Tohru over NOW! Well, apparently, with help from the family.  Fits after anime.
1. That Damn Rat

**N/A: PLEASE READ! Okay, sorry, but I have to straighten things out. When I started this story, I was only on the fourth book of Fruits Basket. So I know that this probably won't fit in with anything after the fourth book, but it can fit in there or right after the anime. Don't hate me! Please! **

Kyo's POV

My hand twitched at my side and I clenched it into a fist, flexing the muscles in my wrist. The beads on my bracelet clicked together as I did so. My forehead was beaded with sweat and my heartbeat was going about twenty beats per minute faster than usual. There had been few times where I'd felt worse than I did right now, but it was all for the right reasons. Right now I didn't feel terrible because that damn rat had just beaten me – again – or because Kagura had just slammed me into yet another wall: I felt this terrible because I was terribly _nervous_… Today, I was going to take the upper hand over Yuki. I was going to do what he hadn't done: I was going to tell Tohru that I loved her.

I'd been working so hard for this moment lately. Kagura had, thankfully, decided not to be so stupid and smothering, and I think she might've even had her eyes on Hatsuharu… Well, I guess she did have a creepy thing for younger guys… Shigure was out of the house with Hatori at Ayame's pervert shop for the afternoon, and, though I'd tried to get the rat to go with them, I was fairly sure he wouldn't be bothering my plans stuck up in his room with his books and his homework. Momiji had taken Kisa and Hiro to a park – "What, Momiji, just because we're 'kids' you think we want to spend all of our free time at a park?" Hiro had protested – and I'd made sure that Ritsu was at his mother's spa.

I'd even helped out with chores to make sure Tohru had as little as possible to do today. I'd done two loads of laundry, done all of the breakfast dishes, scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom floors and swept the porch, and yesterday I'd run down to the market to pick up extra soy sauce, lemons and milk to make sure we didn't run out. Well, okay, I'd drank the milk on the way home, but I'm a freaking cat. What do you expect?

I glanced down at the door to the house and, involuntarily, my foot began tapping in impatience. Lately, Yuki had been showing signs that he was beginning to think of Tohru as a little bit more than a friend and I wanted to beat him to the punch with her. I mean, come _on!_ The idiot had hundreds of girls to choose from at school, even if some of them were crazy stalkers, and he had to fall for the same girl I had? The same sweet, innocent, generous, optimistic, beautiful girl? Why me? I knew this was a long shot in all: Yuki was, after all, a "prince" and all good-looking and crap, and any girl, even Tohru would be at risk to swooning over him and his charm. But I'd placed a note that I thought was pretty damn romantic coming from me on Tohru's bed when I knew she'd be downstairs and waited for her to up on the roof here to meet me as she'd done multiple times before.

_Tohru, _the note read. _Meet me on the roof at five o'clock or whenever you have time, you know, because I wouldn't want it to be inconvenient for you or anything, so just, when you can, okay? Don't worry about any chores or anything, I'll do them or have the rat take care of them later. See you later, I guess. I mean, if you do decide to come, which I wouldn't know until my butt gets numb from sitting on the roof for too long waiting for you, I guess. Please come? 'Course… you probably will, with how willing you are to do anything for anyone. I should stop writing. –Kyo_

Yeah, it was pretty pathetic. Yeah, I'd managed to babble on paper. Yeah, I knew she'd come, even if it was just to see if I needed help on my math homework or something. That was what I was counting on. I looked up at the sky. If the sundial in the yard was right, it was about half-past four. Come on. Really? I'd been sitting out here for an hour already, and I still had a half-hour to go? But then again… the shadow was a little past the half-hour mark…maybe it was more like fifteen minutes, or even just ten.

I'd just been feeling impatient to have Tohru here already, but suddenly, there couldn't be enough time until five o'clock. Everything was wrong. This wasn't romantic, it was dangerous. What if Tohru fell off the roof? The girl was known to be sort of a klutz, and I didn't want to cause her to be paralyzed or something because she'd fallen off the roof! Because of me! And besides this major problem were all the little things: my clothes were old and worn and unimpressive and I wasn't wearing any shoes…that's so informal… And while I felt comfortable around Tohru most of the time, formality seemed more romantic and impressive as compared to my small green t-shirt and baggy beige cargo pants. My hair was hanging in my face and it was probably as messy as always, which upset me more. Tohru would go running from this! And then she'd really fall off of the roof.

What if she tried to bring food or something up here? She wouldn't be able to keep bowls and things balanced while she tried to get up the ladder and I couldn't easily help her without sliding off of the roof myself. I couldn't just hope that she _wouldn't_ bring food up here. I mean, she'd done it before, hadn't she? What was to stop her from doing it again?

All this worrying reminded me of the last New Year's Eve, when Yuki and I had rushed home after a heap of worrying about Tohru to find her crying and looking at the picture of her mother. But that just made me more anxious. I thought of all the happy things I possibly could – tuna, cod, salmon, onigiri, catnip – but I couldn't get my mind to stay off of Tohru for long and how she should be here soon.

Suddenly, the front door opened. I tensed up, completely stiff, and waited to see Tohru's head as she started up the ladder. I heard voices.

"Honda-san, there's something I've been meaning to tell you…" It was that stupid rat. What was he doing with my girl?

"Yes, Sohma-kun?" Oh, her sweet voice…

"Well… I've meant to tell you this for a long time…"

"You're my friend, Sohma-kun, you can tell me anything," she assured him.

The two of them stepped off of the front step and went to go stand under a tree near the house. Yuki's back was to me, but Tohru stood facing him and I could clearly see her face. She looked concerned for him, and affection burned in her eyes.

"That's the thing…" Yuki shifted his weight and put one arm behind his back, seeming uncomfortable. Good. "I… Tohru…" he addressed her by her first name, without a suffix. "I want to be…more than friends… That is," he continued quickly, seeing the surprised look on her face, "I think…I think I love you."

Oh. Hell. _No!_ This was _my _moment! _I_ was going to express my feelings to her! Me! Not that damn rat in all of his freaking _perfection_. That…that _bastard!_ He was really asking for it. He was just trying to get me mad; to make me come down there and fight him! But…_he_ wanted a fight? I was usually the one begging for a fight. Not Yuki. So…was he _serious?_ Had he come to the same conclusion I recently had – that Tohru is the most beautiful person in every way that I'd ever met? Did he see all the wonderful things about her that I did? He…he couldn't! Right? The rat could never appreciate or love her as much as I did, it was impossible! Of course not! She should know… She should _know_ that I loved her and he didn't! At least, not as much.

"Yuki-kun…" she gasped, breathless. Her face was flushed a bright red and her eyes darted back and forth, looking at Yuki's. "Are… Are you serious?" Her eyes welled.

Of course. She was concerned for him, because she was about to break his heart. She was going to tell him that she loved someone else – me – and let him down gently. But she was afraid to break his heart, to hurt him. She didn't want to put the bastard through any pain. Oh. Well, poor idiot. He can go off with the Prince Yuki fan club, making about seventy girls from school ecstatic. _Fulfill their dreams and get away from Tohru, rat!_ I called out in my mind.

"Yes. I'm serious."

"Oh… Oh, Yuki-kun…" a tear slid down her cheek. Here it comes… She's about to crush him… "I love you too."

_WHAT?_

She put her arms tentatively around Yuki's neck, not quite hugging him, but pulling him close. Yuki put his hands on her waist and my vision went red. I knew what was coming and I knew what I wanted, what I _needed._ Tohru was too innocent and I knew she couldn't have had her first kiss yet. Plus, she'd told me so. I'll be damned if I was going to let her first kiss be with Yuki.

"Hey! Tohru!" I called down, using the courage I'd gained from my fury.

Tohru jumped back from Yuki, yanking her arms back, and Yuki did the same. "Kyo-kun!" she exclaimed, surprised. "What…what are you doing on the roof?"

"Waiting for you, obviously. Didn't you get my note?"

"Oh…" she flushed again. "Right! I was supposed to meet you! I'm so sorry, Kyo-kun! I got sidetracked and then…" she glanced at Yuki nervously.

"You don't have to explain anything to him, Tohru," I heard Yuki murmur. "Your time is not his and you don't have to do what he says."

I hissed under my breath.

"Oh, no, Yuki-kun, but I have to! I couldn't let him think I'd forgotten or ignored his request – that would be rude!"

"Do what you want, just know that you're under no obligations to that stupid cat."

"All right…Yuki…" Quickly, she took one of his hands and kissed him on the cheek, blushing furiously. I hissed again.

"She's coming, idiot. Be patient," Yuki chastised me angrily. "No need to hiss…"

Tohru turned away from the rat and began climbing the ladder. When she'd reached the top of the ladder she began, "Kyo-kun, is everything all right? In your note you sounded pretty…conflicted. Or upset. Is something wrong?"

Yes, something's wrong. Everything's wrong. It's _all_ wrong! You're wrong! Yuki's wrong! I was wrong…

"No…I…" I realized then that not that I'd called her up here, I no longer had anything to say. I couldn't exactly tell her I loved her now. Absolutely not. Now that…well…

"Kyo-kun?" she prompted, looking concerned.

"I just…it was me who destroyed all of the leeks in the garden. Not Hiro. Just…just thought you should know… You know, 'cause you're the one who cooks them all…"

"Oh, is that all?" Tohru asked incredulously. She started laughing. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but…" she continued laughing. "Obviously it was you! None of us suspected Hiro for a moment. It's all right though; you know I wouldn't make leeks for you, don't worry."

"What's going on up there?" I heard Yuki's voice. Gah! That damn rat was _spying _on us?

"You're _spying _on us?" I exclaimed angrily, unable any longer to suppress my feelings.

"I think I have permission, even though it isn't really spying. I never really went inside and you never made it clear that this was a private meeting, did he, Tohru-chan?"

Her first name… _I_ want to say her first name like that…with…love…

"Well…" Tohru looked back and forth from the ground to my face nervously. "I…I guess not…"

"That's right, stupid cat. So next time don't get on my case for simply walking around the place I live."

"You son of a –"

"Kyo-kun, please don't," Tohru whimpered. Usually I paid no attention when Tohru attempted to break up my battles, because even though I appreciated heartily that she was always concerned for me and wanting me to control my anger, I didn't need it. I could handle myself just fine and I didn't need her to tell me what to do. But now, her voice sounded different. It was filled with not only concern and wariness, but a loving protectiveness that happily shocked me. She…she was trying to protect me…? "Yuki-kun's sickness has been acting up again with all the wind lately. I don't want him to get sick." Oh. She was worried about _him. _God, I should've known.

"Whatever. He's not worth my time anyway." I paused, considering my options. Play it cool, ignore Yuki and go inside to make some onigiri or make a dramatic getaway? In my anger I went with the most beneficial and easier choice: dramatic getaway. "Thanks for…uh…you know. Forgiving me for the leeks," I said lamely as a simple last thing to say to her.

"Kyo-kun –"

I then jumped off the roof. I'd done it numerous times before and I landed on my feet perfectly, then I was up and running through the woods. I guess it was cowardly, running away, but I needed to get away from the feelings that were still at that house with those two. Even with Shigure. Obviously I wouldn't be able to stay away forever; all of my things were at the house and though I could live without them, it wouldn't be comfortable. Plus, my life wouldn't feel…complete…without being near Tohru. Even if she was now all romantic and crap with the damn rat, her smile and her kindness towards me would be more than enough to keep me around.

Where to now? I thought about going back to the mountains with Master, but I'd really just gotten back from a very long training session and I could go without another four months of mountain-climbing without any equipment and hauling buckets of water down the long paths into town from the Master's house.

What about another Sohma? One who lived outside of the main house like Shigure. Because there was no way in hell I'd be going back there. Even if everything was great at home with Tohru, I'd never go back there.

Monkey-boy… Nah. Actually, definitely not. I wouldn't be able to take more than five minutes of "I'M SO SORRY, KYO-CHAN! I DIDN'T MEAN TO RUIN YOUR AIR WITH MY PRESENCE! I'M SORRY! I'M SOOOOO SORRY! LET ME SCREAM IT TO THE WORLD: I'M SO SORRY THAT I MESSED UP KYO-CHAN'S AIR! I'M SO SORRY THAT I MESSED UP _YOUR_ AIR, WORLD!" Yeah. No.

Ayame? Oh, _hell_ no. Not in a million years. Well, before I'd go back to the main house, I guess I would go to Ayame's but there _had_ to be some better option than _that._

I couldn't even think of anyone else who lived outside. I'd probably find something wrong with every option anyway.

Well…I guess…I could just go and sulk in my room for the next month… At least I'd be at _home_… And I didn't necessarily have to interact with Yuki at all! I could avoid him easily enough. And maybe, just maybe, I might get another chance with Tohru… I could at least tell her how I feel… She'd have to at least consider it, right? Being with me? God, I was so pathetic. If I kept this up, I might soon resemble some of my family… And they're just sad.

Suddenly, my bedroom was seeming like a better and better idea. Who there would be on my side? My pillow… Well, that was two of us at least.

Damn that rat.

**A/N: So…Hate it? Love it? Well, oh well, 'cause I've already finished the story and I'm putting it up… But review anyway, please! It literally makes my day! Thanks!**

**~Pathway**


	2. Gentleman

Tohru's POV

"What are you talking about 'gentlemanly'? I can be 'gentlemanly' if I want to be!" yelled Kyo from beside the door in the living room as I walked through.

"Please. I'd like to see you try," replied Yuki, looking bored but slightly amused that of all the things that bothered Kyo, this was the loudest fight they'd had in days.

"All right! I will!" Kyo's face flushed.

"So why are you just standing there?"

"Because… um…"

I decided to jump in and save him. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Oh, good. Thank you, Tohru-chan, it smells delicious," complimented Yuki. Kyo growled.

"Oh, thank _you_, Yuki-kun!" I exclaimed, blushing a little as he addressed me with 'chan'.

"See, Kyo-kun, that was a good example of being a gentleman," Shigure said sarcastically, sitting down at the table and taking the bowl of sugared strawberries.

Sitting next to him, I swore I could hear Kyo hiss. "Shut up, dog." Said dog heaped the sweet berries into his bowl of wheat and then scooped at least a pint of extra brown sugar on top of his breakfast. "How can you…_eat_ that?" exclaimed Kyo, grimacing at the overly-sweet bowl.

"Oh, it's good! Do you want to try?" Shigure held out a spoonful of his sugary confection out towards Kyo.

He smacked it away. "No! It looks horrible!"

"Ah, but, you _are_ a cat. I'm sure you'd prefer salty things, then?"

"I like sweet things just fine, but that's overkill!"

"You are entitled to your own opinion, my whiskery friend, as I am entitled to mine."

Kyo, looking startled, felt the skin around his mouth and up towards his ears. "I'm not…" A flicker of understanding flitted across his face. "Oh…you meant like…cat form…"

Shigure nodded, smiling at Kyo's slowness through a mouthful of strawberries and wheat.

The meal continued in a heavy silence with much glowering between Kyo and Yuki and Shigure happily continuing to stir more sugar into his breakfast.

Silence and awkwardness had settled out of the household lately whenever Kyo and Yuki were in the same room, especially since yesterday. I didn't know why, but I didn't dare say anything and wreck the happy… almost-relationship that Yuki and I were trying to settle into. Shigure and I exchanged a glance that told me he was worried about the awkwardness as well, but I knew that neither of us knew what was going on. I had an idea that Yuki might, but I also knew that he wouldn't tell me.

About twenty minutes later, I hated to break the silence, but we had to leave. "Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun, we need to leave for school soon," I said as cheerily as I could, dismissing the tense atmosphere.

"Ah, thank you, Tohru-chan, we might have forgotten," Yuki smiled at me, standing up to take his dishes into the kitchen. "May I take your bowl?"

"Oh, yes, thank you," I replied, handing it to him.

"Oh, what a _gentleman_," Shigure pretended to gush, putting his face in his hands and looking pointedly at Kyo.

"Again, shut up, dog," Kyo growled.

From the kitchen, the sound of violently clanking china came from the kitchen and I stood up, taking the other two Sohma's dishes. "Oh no, I'd better go make sure Yuki-kun isn't hurt!" I rushed from the room.

Yuki was cursing under his breath repeatedly, clutching his left hand in his right. "Yuki-kun, are you alright?" I gasped, rushing over to the sink and putting the dishes in the soapy water and then turning to Yuki.

"I'm – fine," he gasped, though blood dripped through his hands. I gasped too, clapping my hands over my mouth.

"You're not! Oh, where are the bandages?" I flitted around the kitchen, first heating up a wet towel and applying it to Yuki's bloody hand and then looking again for the linen strips that were all we had until I finally went to the store this afternoon.

I eventually found a decent-sized strip for Yuki's hand and wrapped it around, securing it with the only thing I had: a small bobby pin from my hair that had been unmanageable this morning.

"Thank you," murmured Yuki quietly into my ear. I suddenly realized that we were so close together, my shoulder almost touched his chest, and my jaw was only a few centimeters from his.

"Of course, Yuki-kun…" I almost whispered. I tilted my head back up towards his and stretched up on my toes, trying to kiss him…

_SLAM!_

"Hey, guys, we've got to get to school! We're going to be late!" Kyo picked up his book bag that had, previously, sat against the wall next to the kitchen door.

"And how long has he _actually_ cared about school?" muttered Yuki after I jumped away from him, startled.

"I'm sorry, Yuki-kun…" I blushed again. "Is – is your hand all right?"

"Yes, after you doctored it so well," he winked, and I blushed a little brighter.

"COME ON, IDIOTS! SCHOOL!" bellowed Kyo from outside the house.

Yuki snarled a little bit, which surprised me. "Stupid cat… Here," he said, handing me my bag and taking his own, as both had been hanging on the pegs Shigure had installed beside the door. "Wouldn't wanna keep him _waiting_ or anything, after all…" he muttered.

I laughed and Yuki smiled.

"COME _ON!_" he yelled again, but this time his yell sounded almost…panicked?

"WE'RE _COMING!_" Yuki yelled back, frustrated and mocking.

We walked outside and joined Kyo who was waiting, his arms crossed and his foot tapping. "Impatient much?" Yuki sneered.

"Slow, much?" Kyo retorted angrily. "Get a move on!"

We started walking at a quick pace. Apparently Kyo really wanted to get to school. "So, are you excited about school today, Kyo?" I asked curiously, catching up to walk next to him. Yuki then sped up to stay in-stride with me.

"Uh…" Kyo seemed extremely distracted. A bead of sweat rolled down his face, although it was a cool, early spring day. "Yeah. Really excited. Got some…uh…_things_ I need to do today," he said, seeming almost defensive, evasive.

We reached the school faster than we might have usually, given our quick pace. "Tohru-chan!" called a voice from ahead of us.

"Momiji-chan!" I replied as I saw the young blonde boy running up to us. He spread his arms out to hug me but Kyo caught him mid-stride by the arm.

Expecting Kyo to yell at him about how stupid he was and how could he think of hugging a girl in front of all of these people, I was surprised when he asked, "Where's Haru?"

"Haru?" Momiji looked taken-aback and a little disappointed, too, looking at me longingly. I looked back at him apologetically. "Um…I think he said he would be over by the front doors, waiting for us…?"

"You guys take your time," Kyo turned away from Momiji and towards Yuki and I. "I'll see you in class." He ran off in the direction of the front of the school.

"What was that about?" Momiji asked, glancing at the way Kyo had run off.

"No idea…" Yuki looked contemplative, also staring at Kyo's back. "But Momiji-kun, honestly? You run up to hug Tohru-chan…_here?_"

"I just…wanted a hug…" Momiji sniffed.

"Here, Momiji-chan," I offered out my arm to the boy. He laced his arm through mine, smiling, and we started walking up to the school again.

"Tohru-chan?" I turned towards Yuki, who was holding his arm out to me as I'd done to Momiji. Smiling, and blushing a little, I took his arm and the three of us walked, arm-in-arm, to class.

**A/N: You know, I'm a year of the ox. So, my Zodiac year is Hatsuharu… I love him :3**


	3. My New Lieutenant

Kyo's POV

"Haru!" I called out, seeing the punkish white-and-black spiky hair. "Haru!"

"Kyo? What is it?" he asked, looking around. "Where's Momiji and the others?"

"They're back there somewhere," I gestured vaguely behind me. "I needed to talk to you."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Um…well…" I could feel my face heating up.

"It's about Tohru, isn't it?" Hatsuharu asked, putting his hands, laden with jewelry, on his hips.

I was suddenly furious with embarrassment, and I seriously considered punching the freak, but he might not want to help me afterwards. So I calmed myself down, exhaling deeply. "Y-Yeah. It is."

Haru smirked, closing his eyes and nodding. "Okay, what can I do for you?"

I was taken off-guard. "What do you mean?" I asked, shocked at his lack of surprise or explosive response. "You're not…surprised, or something?"

"Nah, man, it's obvious you like her!" Haru laughed, running a hand through his hair. "And, unless I'm crazy, she likes you, too," he winked.

"Then…" I sighed. "You're crazy."

"Why, what happened?"

I didn't want to talk in front of all these people about Tohru and Yuki and how my life seemed to be going to crap. I gestured over to a bench that sat under a tree close by. "Over here?" I asked.

"Sure…" As soon as we sat down, Haru looked anxious and he leaned his elbows onto his knees, sitting forward but looking at me. "So what happened?"

"Well… Tohru and Yuki are sort of…together…"

"What?" Haru sat up straight, looking shocked. "When did this happen!"

"Yesterday afternoon?" I muttered miserably.

"Oh, no…" Haru murmured sympathetically. "Wait… How did he do it?"

"What do you mean _how did he do it_? Does it matter?"

"Yes!" Haru exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. "It might just make the difference of whether or not you still have a chance!"

"What do you mean?" I asked again.

"Well, was it sweet? Was he romantic? Was it so awkward that it looked like she only said yes because she felt bad for him?"

"Uh… I guess it was…sorta…sweet? Maybe? I don't know, I'm no good at this."

Haru sighed and shook his head. "You're right. You're not. Actually, you're hopeless." He smirked a little bit. "Okay. Can you remember anything they might have said?"

"Well…" I said, racking my brain. "He was all quiet and awkward, and she told him that they were friends, and he could tell her anything. Then he said… 'That's the thing…' then he called her by her first name –"

"No suffix?"

"No. Just 'Tohru.'"

"Ooh…"

"Then he said 'I want to be…more than friends… That is, I think…I think I love you.'" I tried to add in the pauses in all the right places.

"Aww…"

"Whose side are you on?" I burst out angrily.

"Right! Sorry! But yes, Kyo, that was sweet. What did she say to that?"

"Well, she asked if he was serious, and he said he was, all solemn. Then she said," I imitated her voice the best I could, clasping my hands together mockingly and trying to put on an expression of overdramatic love, "'Oh… Oh, Yuki-kun… I love you too.'"

"Oh… Did she cry?"

"Now that you mention it, yes. Just a couple of tears."

"Slow and dramatic?"

"Hmm…yep."

"Oh no."

"Why? What does that mean?" I was starting to get pissed off at this bastard who seemed to have all the answers to romance. He was like a freaking relationship-to-panicked-guy translator.

"Well, if she cries all heartfelt like that it probably means that…she was serious…"

My shoulders slumped. Well. There went my chances.

"Well, but there's another option!" Haru rushed on. "She might have just been caught up in the moment. I mean, she's always sort of liked him and he's always really liked her. When he declared his love all sweetly like he did, it might have just put a whole bunch of pressure on her shoulders."

"You mean…" I thought. "She might have pressured _herself_ into telling Yuki she loved him?" I asked incredulously. "Just so that he wouldn't feel bad? So that he would be happy?" Haru nodded is affirmative. "Oh, that _GIRL_!" I exclaimed. Haru raised his eyebrows again, surprised at my outburst.

"What about her?"

"That she would really say that just to make him happy when she might not even mean it! She's _always_ putting other people in front of herself. It's so _irritating!_ I mean, it's good," I rushed. "It's one of the things I love about her. But she needs to consider her own feelings once in a while. If she really doesn't love him, then this can only end in heartbreak, right?"

"Well…usually. But she _might_ love him. Remember that. Don't get so caught up in the possibility that she doesn't that you end up getting hurt yourself."

"True…"

The first bell rang, signaling that we had five more minutes to get to class. I wasn't worried. My class was nearby and Haru wouldn't worry about being late, which was good, because I still needed to ask him for the biggest favor I'd ever asked anyone for.

"So was there anything else, or should we get to class?" Haru asked, glancing at the doors that Momiji, Tohru and Yuki had just reached and they'd opened to go inside.

"Well, there is one other thing. I needed to ask you a favor…"

"I would guess in relation to your Tohru troubles?" he asked.

"Of course. I'm sort of trying to keep… I'm trying to keep Tohru and Yuki from kissing…"

"Uh. Why?"

"For all the obvious reasons!"

He looked at me dubiously. "Which reasons would those be?"

I sighed. "I thought _you_ were the expert! Tohru's never kissed anyone."

"Really? How do you know?"

"She told me once."

"She did?" he looked extremely surprised. "Why?"

"We were…" I blushed. "We were playing Truth or Dare with Momiji and Shigure last week… I got Tohru and she chose 'truth'… So I asked if she'd had her first kiss yet. And she blushed and said no."

"Oh. Well. Good. Good to know that."

"Yeah, I thought it would be convenient."

"So you don't want Yuki to be her first kiss?" Haru guessed.

"Well…no."

"You…want it to be you?" he asked.

I paused, not saying anything for a minute. "It…wouldn't be a tragedy…" I smirked a little bit.

Haru laughed. "So what do you want me to do, just keep 'em apart?"

"Nah, that would be too difficult. But could you ask Yuki if they've kissed yet? And, if I can't be there and they're alone, do you think you could disrupt them? You know, annoy them a little bit?"

"Are you kidding?" Haru laughed. "'Annoying' is my middle name!"

"Well, it should be, shouldn't it?" I laughed, too. "But thanks, man, this means a lot to me."

"I know. But, you do owe me now."

"Oh, no!" I feigned horror.

We both laughed, Haru slumping over onto his elbows again. "You know, Kyo," he said when we'd both calmed down. "Considering the fact that the girl you love has just gotten together with your sworn enemy, you're more laid-back than you have been for years. You don't even seem like yourself. " His eyes shined with what I took to be hope and happiness for me. "I really hope this works out for you."

I smiled a small smile at him. "Thanks, Haru."

"No problem. Oh!" he looked up at the nearly-empty school grounds. "We need to get to class!"

"Right! Well, report to me at lunch if you can, okay?"

"Yes sir!" he laughed.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Class was slow. That wasn't unusual, but for some reason, with all that was going on, it seemed like everything would be as alive and on-edge as all of my nerves were. Only one interesting thing had happened today, and it wasn't the most pleasant thing to happen to me.

That morning, only about fifteen minutes after I'd gotten into class, our teacher started talking, announcing that we'd be assigned new seats for this next term. I'd spent my time before then simply staring at Tohru, who was talking to her new…(I shudder) boyfriend. I wasn't paying any attention to Yuki, though. I was enjoying that it was difficult for them to talk, as they were separated by a row and three seats.

"Saki, Hanajima," the teacher called out, pointing to the first seat.

"Oh boy," she gushed in her own _Hana_ kind of way. "The seat closest to the door. Huzzah." She seemed like she actually meant it, and I couldn't blame her. The seat closest to the only proper exit to this hellhole? I'd kill for it.

I knew almost no one in this class besides the people I lived with and Tohru's two friends, so I only really barely cared that Uo got seated one seat behind the first chair next to Hana's, so they were close, and I waited for Tohru's and the Sohma's names to be called.

"Honda, Tohru," the teacher called. My breath caught, waiting to see where she'd be seated. She pointed to the seat behind Uo. The Yankee smiled at Tohru as she sat down and they chatted for a moment until the teacher shot them a stern look. There was a seat right next to Tohru and one in the aisle next to her and one chair back. I was determined that I'd get the seat right next to her. We were by far not the last ones to be called, and there were about twelve empty seats on the opposite side of the classroom, but I was determined that I wouldn't get one of those.

"Sohma, Yuki." I was prepared to laugh as Yuki was seated in the chair on the other side of the classroom to Tohru, but the world apparently hated me. The stupid teacher pointed to the chair next to Tohru. He smiled and Tohru smiled back, and he took his seat. That pissed me off.

"Hey, shouldn't I have gone first?" I yelled at the teacher. After all, 'K' came before 'Y' in the alphabet, or had I been mistaken the last, oh, ten years?

The teacher looked down at her roll call list. "Oh. I'm sorry, Kyo-san, yes, you should have been first. But I'll just seat you now."

"Well, since you called Yuki rather than me, shouldn't I get his seat?" Everyone in the class, especially the ones I knew, were looking at me curiously, wondering why I was so worked up about this. My fists were clenched, I was practically yelling, and I could feel that my hair was standing on end a little bit. Most people were probably thinking _ Freeeeeeeeeak…_ Well I was thinking _Shut uuuuuuuuuup…_

"It's not that big of a deal, and I've already seated Yuki-san, so you can sit…" she checked at the seating chart she was in the process of making. "How about here?" she pointed to a chair at literally the farthest possible place from Tohru's seat. How could _that_ seat, of all, happen to be empty?

I surprised myself and frightened my classmates. Without looking at Tohru, or sneering at Yuki, or glancing at any of them, really, I went calmly to sit down at my new seat. Just as the teacher was about to call the next student, there was a loud _THWACK! _The kind of "thwack" that might come from a guy hitting his head so hard on his desk that he saw stars. The whole class turned and looked at me, the source of the noise. Again, _THWACK! _

"Kyo-kun?" I heard Tohru whimper in concern. _THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!_

"Uh…Carrot Top? You're kinda causin' a scene –" _THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!_

"My God, shouldn't he be unconscious by now?" wondered Hanajima aloud. _THWACK! THWACK!_

The teacher, who had been stunned into silence, finally stepped in. "Kyo-san, what do you think you're doing?"

I sat up just enough to look at the teacher. "Well, my head hurts a little bit and my vision's kind of blurry…" Some of the class laughed. "But I do believe that I'm hitting my head against the desk."

"May I ask _why_?" the teacher asked incredulously.

"Hmm… No. I don't think so." I decided that our conversation ended there. _THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!_

Suddenly there was something soft under my head and the thwack I was trying for was more of a _thump_ as my forehead collided with it. I looked up and, as best as I could tell through my blurry vision and deep, expected headache, Tohru had slid her hand under my face just as I'd planned to hit it again. "Tohru-san?" I muttered.

"Kyo-kun, what's going on? Why are you hitting your head?"

I planned out a witty response considerably quickly considering my state and then said something incredibly intelligent like, "Well, I, um, er… Uh."

I don't remember anything after that because I do believe I blacked out.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

" –and the idiot brought it on himself…" I heard the damn rat's voice saying.

"No, no, well something was clearly bothering him, and he just didn't say anything… Maybe I should have interfered sooner, maybe then…?" Tohru's worried voice came from a spot beside me, but I didn't want to open my eyes yet. The consciousness hurt too much.

"Tohru-chan, don't you dare blame yourself for Kyo-kun's stupidity. Maybe he's just finally snapped."

"Finally snapped? Oh, don't say that, Yuki-kun! I hate to think he's in pain… At least he's not conscious…" I could feel her small hand rest on my forearm and a jolt like electricity zapped through me. She touched me…she was concerned about me…she and Yuki were at odds about my intelligence level and mental state… Did she possibly care for me? Was Haru right?

Speak of the devil…

"Hey, is he awake yet?" I heard Haru say, apparently just walking into the room. "Oh. Obviously not…"

I really hoped that somebody would start talking about my health and if I really was okay, because even though the escape from the classroom and into unconsciousness had helped me for the moment, I didn't particularly want to live with any brain injuries that might further prevent me from possibly winning over Tohru. Or, you know, living. But nobody said anything about that useful bit of information.

"How long has he been out, now?" asked Yuki.

"Forty-six minutes…" I heard Tohru's concerned voice reply at once. There was a pause. "Forty-seven." Hmm… She was keeping track… I almost smirked. I heard the slight creaking of a wooden chair and Tohru's touch on my forearm shifted down to my hand and she held it, pancake-style, stroking the back of my hand with her soft, small thumb.

The atmosphere in what I could only assume was the nurse's office or a hospital was extremely awkward, and the air could be cut with a spoon. Nobody talked for at least five minutes, so I decided that I would now make my dramatic return to consciousness.

I inhaled deeply and opened my eyes slowly. "Kyo-kun!" exclaimed Tohru, letting go of my hand. Damn. She didn't have to do _that_.

"Kyo-kun," muttered Haru, looking only slightly less ecstatic than Tohru that I was asleep. Yuki just looked at me hostilely, like _How dare you wake up and sour the world with your life?_ In other words, Yuki's and his – another shudder – _girlfriend's_ expressions were complete opposites, so much I might have laughed if not for the other circumstances of this moment.

"I'll go get the nurse…" muttered Yuki, probably just wanting to get away from me.

"Hey, man, are you okay? What did you _do_?" I guessed I looked horrible, considering Haru's tone of voice. I took the hand that Tohru had just let go of and felt my forehead, immediately wincing. There was a painful raised bump, about the size of Tohru's onigiri. Which was to say, large.

"Gah," I winced again, as feeling my injury suddenly made me more aware of the pain and the fact that something could possibly be seriously wrong. In reply to Haru's second question I said lamely, "Uh…I think I smacked my head against my desk."

"Repeatedly," Tohru tearfully added.

"Yeah…"

"Well what'd you do that for!" exclaimed Hatsuharu, looking a little bit more angrily now that I was conscious.

"Um…I was feeling… Angst?"

The two stared at me like there was honestly something wrong with my head.

"Hey, we're teenagers. We've got puberty and hormones and everything that causes angst, right? Hardly my own intention to possibly give myself a concussion or something…"

"You do, in fact, have a concussion," said a slightly plump woman with dark hair slicked back into a tight bun and rosy cheeks. "A minor one, but a concussion all the same. Just what do you think you were doing, slamming your head on a table?"

"Um… I was suffering from –"

"Let me guess. Heartbreak?" I blushed brightly, as she'd been almost correct. "You don't know how many times I get kids in here who passed out from too much pain medicine or even tried to kill themselves in the midst of a heartbreak. It's sickening, truly."

"You're not married, are you?" I said unthinkingly. She glared at me. "Sorry."

"You all can go home now. I'll be contacting Kyo-san's guardians if he needs to be moved to a hospital, but it's already six o'clock. You children should get home."

"Um, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to have a word with him," Haru put in after the nurse had picked up a clipboard and started walking away from my bed.

"It's your life, boy. Do with it what you will. I'm here 'til eight."

"Thank you," he said.

"Should we stay, Yuki-kun?" asked Tohru, glancing up at him.

"Um…" he was probably formulating a way to say "hell no" while still being the sweet prince he wanted to be for Tohru.

"Actually, guys, Momiji's waiting downstairs to walk you home. He wanted to sleep over tonight and Shigure and Hatori said it was fine, so…" Haru trailed on suggestively.

"Oh, well then we can't keep him waiting," Tohru said matter-of-factly. "I hope you get to come home tonight, Kyo-kun," she said, turning to me. "I was going to make tuna and cod onigiri. But please just get some rest and feel better. If you're not well enough for school tomorrow, I'll come here and visit you, all right?"

"Okay. Um…thank you."

She smiled in a sad sort of sympathetic way. "Of course."

Meanwhile, Yuki didn't seem so happy at all of the attention this was getting me. "Come on, Tohru-chan, let's go."

"Okay, Yuki-kun, just a second." She seemed to like keeping her boyfriend waiting almost as much as I liked her keeping her boyfriend waiting. "Promise me… _Promise me,_" she said intensely, "that you'll try to feel better?"

I smiled though it hurt my head a little bit. "Promise."

"Okay. Bye, Kyo-kun! Bye, Hatsuharu-san!"

"Bye," we both replied quietly. Yuki nodded at Haru and completely ignored me, which I guess I was fine with.

"So what happened?" Haru asked, sounding just like he had this morning. "What exactly inclined you to start smacking your head on a desk?"

"Well, irony, I suppose."

"Irony?"

"Yeah, freaking irony. We got a new seating order in class today. _He_, of course, got the only seat _right next to her_, and I'm on the exact opposite side of the room. It just…sucked."

"Sounds like it," Haru said drily. "Yuki said that Tohru tried to help. That she was concerned. He didn't like that, he said, but he said that one of the things he loved about her was that she was so caring for others. What did she do?"

I tried desperately to recall through my fuzzy brain the memories of this morning. "Well, first she tried to talk to me and figure out what was wrong. Then she put her hand under my head so I would stop hitting it on the desk."

"I see. That's cute."

"Cute?"

"I think," he mused, "that that should indicate that she cares for you."

"Well obviously she cares for me. I mean, she's seen my true form and she was okay. She practically waits on me hand-and-foot along with Shigure and Yuki, and she'd probably literally do anything for me."

"Yeah, but that's all kindness and friendship. I mean in a romantic way. She was trying to sort of save you from yourself."

"Oh. I get that. I guess."

"Good. Maybe you're not _totally_ hopeless." He smirked.

I smiled, too. "_Soooooo…_ Anything to report to me, Lieutenant Haru-kun?"

"Oh, I get to be your lieutenant?"

"Yeah, guess so."

"Cool," he grinned crookedly. "Well, they haven't really tried to actually kiss, like lips-on-lips, but I stopped Tohru from kissing him on the cheek after lunch. I've tried not to let them alone where there would be really no one else."

"Thanks," I said honestly.

"No problem. This is kind of fun. Having to plot out everything like this. I'm thinking about making Momiji part of our efforts, too."

"Momiji? Why?"

"Well, I'm not really as close to Tohru as this mission might need me to be, but he is, I think. She loves him. Like, in a little-brother sort of way," he added quickly. "Having him on our side would be a major asset."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, then talk to him tomorrow about it, okay? I'll probably be stuck in here at least until class starts tomorrow _if_ I'm lucky."

Haru half-smiled in sympathy. "Sorry. But that's what you get!"

"I know…" I groaned.

"I should get home. Hatori will be worried, I was supposed to stay with him tonight."

"Okay. Thanks, Haru."

"No problem." He walked to the door and, with his hand on the doorframe, turned to look at me. "You know, Kyo, she was _really_ scared. She thought you'd managed to kill yourself or something after you'd passed out. At least you've got her wanting you alive and well. And concerned. Today proved that she really, _really_ cares. I mean," he mimicked Tohru's voice horribly, "_'Forty-six minutes…forty-seven._'"

"Shut up…" I muttered, smiling. After a pause, "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I do! I'll talk to Momiji tomorrow, and she'll be yours by Wednesday." We both laughed.

"Goodnight, Haru-kun," I closed my eyes.

"Goodnight, Kyo-kun, my reckless officer-in-command."

**A/N: Have I already said that I love Haru? Well, I'll say it again: I love Haru! :P This is the longest chapter, I think. Ten pages and 3,765 words. Yay me! ;)**


	4. We Were Wrong

Haru's POV

"Hey! Momiji-kun!" I called out. I'd been held back in class a few minutes for a minor Black Haru disruption. Minor, really! Only a _couple _of people got thrown out the window, honestly! But I'd caught up with Yuki, Kyo, Tohru and Momiji, who had started to get tired of waiting and were walking home.

The four of them turned around, Kyo looking at me with a meaningful gaze that either meant _Got any information? _Or _Is this REALLY the only opportunity you've had to talk to the little freak today? _

"Yeah, Haru-kun?"

"I need to talk to you… Can we fall back a little?"

"Sure, I guess," Momiji looked confused.

Kyo was still looking at me curiously and a little impatiently. "Oh…give me a second, Momiji-kun," I muttered. Kyo came closer and I muttered in his ear. "There were always too many people today, and I sorta went Black and it got me in trouble, so _yes_ this is the first opportunity I've had to talk to him. I figured you guys would be fine as long as you were walking with them. I don't have any information, but I think that you do, so we'll talk later."

He stepped back and looked at me with wide eyes. "You're scary, you know that? Were you _seriously_ reading my thoughts?"

"Nah, I'm just that good," I winked. "Okay, come here, Momiji-kun,"

I sent the three older kids forward and walked slowly far behind the group with Momiji. "So what is it, Haru-kun?" Momiji smiled.

"Well… I wanted to talk to you about Tohru."

"Tohru?" his ears perked up at the sound of his friend's name.

"Yeah. Um… Do you think she's happy? You know, with Yuki?"

"I think so," Momiji thought hard. "I mean, they both seem pretty happy, don't you think? Why do you ask?"

"Well… Didn't you always sort of get the feeling that Kyo liked Tohru?"

"Yeah, but obviously not, right? She's with Yuki now."

"Just because she's with Yuki doesn't mean that she and Kyo don't like each other…"

"Oh, do they?" he squealed. "LOVE TRIANGLE!"

"Shut up!" I clapped a hand over his mouth. The three up ahead turned around. I smiled my biggest smile and waved innocently. "Don't say anything too loud! In answer to your question, I don't _know _ if Tohru really likes Kyo, but I'm trying to find out. I'm working with Kyo."

"Oh, Haru-kun, you're not trying to sabotage their relationship, are you? Yuki and Tohru?" Momiji almost plead.

"N-not _sabotage_, I wouldn't say _sabotage_, we just…we want her to know that, you know, she has options. She doesn't have to settle for Yuki if she doesn't really love him."

"How would you _know_ if she didn't really like him?"

"Um…obviously, she would go for Kyo, right?"

"I guess, but is that really a sure way to tell?"

I paused indecisively, suddenly realizing that it would be more difficult than I'd originally realized to tell if Tohru didn't like Yuki and _did_ like Kyo. "Hey, we're supposed to be causing _Tohru_ indecision, not me!"

"I think this is pretty despicable, Haru-kun," Momiji lectured me. "Tell me this: if Kyo really loves Tohru, and wanted her to be happy, with how happy Yuki seems to make her, would Kyo really want to take her away from him?"I stopped walking, dumbstruck. Momiji only stopped after a few more steps. "Just…think about that before you do anything too rash, and if Kyo's trying to 'recruit' me or whatever, tell him what I said. You two need to really consider if you're willing to mess things up with some consequences before you get too invested in this. Okay?"

"O-Okay…" I stuttered.

"Should we catch up with the others?"

"Um…yeah." We started running and quickly caught up to the three second-years. They heard us running up behind them and turned, waiting for us to reach them. Kyo looked at me, lifting an eyebrow in question. I shook my head just the tiniest bit to indicate that, no, Momiji hadn't wanted to join our cause. He lifted an eyebrow, but not in surprise or incredulity, in confusion. He could really be thick sometimes…

"Hello again, Momiji-chan! Hatsuharu-san!"

"Um, you can call me 'Haru,'" I told her nervously. Kyo looked at me curiously. I gave him a look that I hoped he interpreted to mean _I'll tell you later._

"Okay, sure, Haru-san!" I'd meant for her to call me 'Haru-kun,' more like friends, similar to how she called Kyo 'Kyo-kun,' but maybe she'd eventually catch on. What I'd have to explain to Kyo is that, now that Momiji had made it clear that he wasn't willing to help us, I'd have to get closer to Tohru. Maybe we'd get to be better friends and then she'd be more willing to listen to a 'friendly suggestion' that just might include ditching Rat-boy and hooking up with Kyo.

The walk was fairly quiet, which surprised me. Usually, at least twice before we get to the road that branched off towards the main house which Momiji and I took, Yuki and Kyo would get into a shouting match that sometimes turned into an all-out fight. But today they were quiet. Well not _quiet._ Yuki talked to Tohru about school, like how Yuki was doing with student council and stuff, and Kyo just stared at the side of Tohru's head. That was, until he ran into a tree. No joke – he did! Then he stopped doing that and, blushing, began staring intently at the road in front of him. The road to the main house was coming up and I realized: I needed to talk to Kyo, but I wouldn't be able to do that today if Momiji and I went home. I could let Yuki and Tohru go to Shigure's house, but Momiji wouldn't come with them, and I couldn't trust him now. Well, I mean, I couldn't trust him to keep Tohru and Yuki from some PDA.

"Hey, Momiji, what about you and I just staying over at Shigure's for a couple of hours? Maybe we could stay over for dinner? Then we'll go home."

He looked at me curiously, but a smile from Tohru and he was grinning, too. "Okay, Haru-kun!"

"Great! I'll have Shigure call Hatori, okay?" said Tohru, looking excited. "What should I make for dinner?"

The next ten minutes was a lot of loud talking about what everyone wanted to eat that night, the loudest voice being Kyo's, of course, yelling "JUST _NO_ LEEKS! NO LEEKS! NOOOOO LEEKS!" Freak. Tohru's leeks were good.

Eventually it was decided that Tohru would make the tuna and cod onigiri that she hadn't gotten to make yesterday for Kyo. Yuki didn't look very ecstatic about that, but nodded and smiled. "Oh, good, I love your onigiri, Tohru-chan," he grinned.

She blushed. "Thank you," she humbly muttered.

When we reached the house, Momiji pulled his backpack around and took out a deck of cards. "Does anyone want to play cards with me?" he asked, looking specifically at Tohru.

"Oh, I will!" exclaimed Tohru. "Rich Man Poor Man?"

"Anything you'd like, Princess Tohru!" laughed Momiji. Tohru just blushed.

"Will you play, too, Yuki-kun?"

"If you'd like me to, Tohru-chan," he smiled down at her.

"I'll play too, thank you for asking," sang Shigure, walking out the front door of the house in his usual robe.

"Shigure-san," Tohru laughed. "Of course you can play!"

I couldn't believe it. Whether he wanted to or not, Momiji was helping us. By giving them a couple of people to play cards with, I wouldn't have to worry about leaving them alone while I talked to Kyo! Ha! "Do you want to play, Kyo-kun?" asked Tohru, suddenly remembering him.

His face lit up at being remembered by Tohru but the little grin that had appeared on his face turned down a bit when he looked at me. I could see that he needed to talk to me as much as I wanted to needed talk to him. "Um…play without me this time, okay? Haru and I need to talk. Next time, I promise," he added, when Tohru's face fell.

She smiled a little bit. "Okay."

"Oh, my sweet Tohru-chan, worry not about the always-rude Kyo-kun! Worry only about how you shall beat Yuki-kun, Momiji-kun and I at cards, eh?"

Tohru laughed a small laugh. "Right, Shigure-san."

"Come on, man," I gestured to the stairs and his room. He led the way upstairs and we plopped down onto the floor beside the window.

"So. News? Momiji's helping us obviously," he got right down to business.

"Actually, he's not."

"What? But…he offered to keep them busy!"

"No, I guess he just wanted to play cards."

"Well didn't you _ask_ him to help?" demanded Kyo confusedly and impatiently.

"Of course I did! But he said he thinks we're wrong."

"Wrong?" he looked extremely irritated, his frustration building.

"He thinks Tohru is perfectly happy with Yuki and that we shouldn't mess with their relationship. He said… Nevermind," I said quickly.

"What did he say?" asked Kyo in a loud voice.

"No, it's nothing, it would just upset you…"

"I'm _already upset! _Just tell me!" he stood up.

I gulped. "Well, he… He said that if you really loved her, then you'd let her be with Yuki because it makes her happy."

"_WHAT?_ I LOVE –"

"Shut up, Kyo-kun! They can hear you!"

"Don't tell me to shut up, punk! He can't make that kind of judgment! He doesn't know what goes on in my head!"

"Yes, yes, Kyo, you're absolutely right, no one has ever been more correct in saying anything, can you _please_ quiet down now?"

"GAH!" he yelled, not exactly quieting down.

"Take your rage out quietly on something please!" I begged. He came straight at me. "SOMETHING INANIMATE!" I yelled as an afterthought. He flopped onto his bed, plopped his head right down onto his pillow, face-down, and just started muttering expletives. I almost sighed in relief. "Do you _really_ want the other four hearing what we're saying?" I exclaimed once he was well away from me.

"Mmmph mmmt," he muttered into his pillow.

"What?"

He lifted up his head and turned it towards me. "I said _you're_ _right, _all right? Shut up!"

"I will if you do," I said stubbornly, crossing my arms.

"Why you –" he stood up.

"Didn't you have something to tell me?" I said, trying to distract him.

"Right." He paused. "Gah, what was it again!" He put one hand on his hip and one on his forehead, trying to jog his memory. "Right!" he remembered. "It was something I noticed." He blushed a little bit. "They… They don't hold hands."

"Hmm. I guess I haven't seen them do so… Are you just using this as evidence that she doesn't love him?"

"Yeah! I mean–" He suddenly blushed a _lot._ His whole face was as red as his irises. "Never mind…"

"No, what, Kyo-kun?" I demanded. "I wanted to drop the whole Momiji thing and you made _me_ spill. So it's your turn!"

He groaned. "If you tell this to _anyone_… I will not hesitate to murder you as brutally as I possibly can," he promised me.

"Yeah. Okay. Now talk."

He sat down on the bed again, his legs hanging off the side. "I think it's weird that Yuki won't hold her hand, because…well… If she was _my_ girlfriend…" he twitched, "I would almost always be holding her hand. I…I fantasize about it…a lot." At his confession, he sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands.

I felt so sorry for him. Suddenly I knew what his problem was. "I know what your problem is, Kyo-kun," I informed him.

"Oh, really. Congratulations. I always thought my problem was that I was an angry misanthrope who turns into a cat, but if you've got a different idea, please, let it be known."

I almost laughed, but I felt so serious and so sad about this that I just couldn't. "Kyo-kun, this whole thing is affecting you so badly not because you're angry at Yuki or Tohru, or anyone. I think… I think you're heartbroken."

There was silence as my words sunk into his head and I could practically feel his emotions building. Frustration, anger, resentment, discomfort, and…agony. Who knew it could be an emotion, right?

"I…" he started. "You might be right." I raised my eyebrows in surprise to his quick admittance. "There's just this…this _pain_ in my chest, Haru." He dropped the suffix on my name and I realized this was because right now, I was his best friend. I was listening to his troubles and I realized also that in this moment, there was absolutely _nothing_ I wanted more in the world than for Kyo to be happy. I loved him, and he loved me. Well, you know, in a brotherly sort of way. Not a creepy…yeah. You get it. "It hurts…_all the time,_" he gasped. "And last night… I actually _cried._ I haven't cried like that since I was like six years old! I can't take this anymore…" he folded himself over from his position on the bed, his chest laying on his thighs and his arms wrapping around his knees.

I sat on the bed next to him, patting his back and trying to be of as much comfort as possible. After a minute, he slowly sat up, knocking my hand off of his back. "Thank… Thank you, Haru," he mumbled quietly. "I don't know what's gotten into me…"

I answered quietly for him, "Heartbreak."

**A/N: Hated to make Momiji the sort of traitor….but it had to be done! Love him though… :'( Review, please!**


	5. Things Are Looking Up

Kyo's POV

I'd just poured my heart out to the cow. Did I ever consider I would do that with…_anyone?_ No. No one. Ever. Why did I do it again? I don't know… Well, no, I did. It's because Haru… _understood?_...somehow. He was utterly and completely there for me, and I didn't really know why.

"Why – why are you helping me?" I asked him, now curious.

He hesitated. "You know, at first I thought it was just going to be funny, having you indebted to me. But I think now that I'm doing this for the two of you. I mean, obviously, I like both of you. Love, even. But I just… There's something about the two of you together that makes me smile. I think you're really meant to be together, Kyo."

My eyes widened. I smiled, just a little bit. "Thanks, Haru. Thanks."

"Yeah," he smiled too.

There was a minute of honestly comfortable silence with Haru and I sitting on the bed, side by side. His presence was comforting to me.

"So…" Haru started again. "I have a plan," he said with a mischievous smile.

"A plan?" I asked. Now that he might have had a plan, I could feel my competitive, determined side taking back over my mind. No more weepy, sissy Kyo, I was ready for business.

I think Haru sensed the change in my emotions. "Yeah. Plan A. You said you've never seen them holding hands, right?" I nodded. "This could be because one or both of them is too shy. But it could also be that the romance just isn't there between them, and they don't feel inclined to hold hands. You should…make Tohru think. This is the point of our efforts, after all, isn't it; to make Tohru consider the possibility of being with you?"

I nodded again, becoming impatient. "So, what do I do? Just tell her that I haven't noticed them holding hands? That seems pretty stupid and forward."

"No, don't _tell_ her. _Show_ her."

"What?" I was getting pretty damn confused, and I really wanted an explanation.

"Hold her hand."

"_What?"_ I gaped at him. "I thought we _weren't_ going to be stupid and forward!"

"Well, just, you know, hold her hand. Show her that you can be spontaneous and romantic, you know? Show her just how nice it is to hold your hand, Kyo." He winked.

I was blushing loudly. I could tell. "There's no other option? No Plan B?"

He smirked. "Not yet."

I sighed in defeat. "When?"

"Hmm…" he rested his head in his hand. "Hey, doesn't the student council have a meeting tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Well, I'll take Momiji home like normal, and then it'll be just you and Tohru walking home. Pick a good topic and, when the mood's right, take her hand."

"You make it sound much easier than I know it'll be, Haru."

He laughed. "I know. But if you two have chemistry – which I think you do – then this should work out. You know? Just be optimistic. Like Tohru. Hopefully she can still teach you some optimism?"

"Yeah…" I smiled dreamily. "Her optimism, and her wisdom, and her peacefulness, and I think even her kindness is starting to rub off on me…" I saw Haru smirking at me in an understanding kind of way. I snapped out of it. "Uh, I mean… Yeah, I can be optimistic if I want to."

"Good. You'll need it."

"Oh, Haru… Can I ask you for one more thing?"

"Anything, Kyo. I'm excited for this whole thing."

I blushed even redder than I had before. "Um… How do I act like a gentleman?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The day had gone quite smoothly. Though I wasn't very happy about my new seat – even my dramatic scene with the concussion hadn't gotten me the damned seat next to Tohru – nothing could seem to put a damper on my happy yet terrifyingly nervous mood. It was almost like that day I had planned on telling Tohru I loved her originally; the day that Yuki had stolen my ultimate thunder. But that was okay! I was going to make it up this afternoon by holding her hand like Yuki hadn't done yet! And I knew that he wouldn't ruin it like last time because they were both still in that new-relationship awkwardness stage, as Haru said.

Soon, after a whole day of sitting in class, bored and thinking about Tohru, it was time to go home.

"I'm sorry that I can't walk home with you today, Tohru-chan," Yuki murmured to Tohru as I waited for her to be ready to go. "But the Student Council demands my attendance."

"Of course, Yuki! You're president, after all! I'll have dinner waiting when you get home, okay?"

"Thank you," he replied, touching her cheek with his hand and making her blush. "I love you."

"I love you too, Yuki-kun," she blushed deeper. I was only glad that there were more people in the room besides us or they actually might have kissed.

"_Ohhhh-kay, _Tohru, let's go," I said hurriedly, taking her elbow and pulling her away.

Yuki sneered at me with hate. "Don't be so impatient, stupid cat. And don't tug Tohru-chan around like a dog on a leash. She's a thousand times too good to suffer the indignity."

I let go of Tohru's arm in a hurry. She blushed and looked down. "It's all right, Kyo-kun's just in a hurry to get home, it seems. I'll see you later?" she smiled a shy little grin at him.

"Of course," he returned it, his face instantly melting into an expression of admiration and, well, love. I flushed lightly in anger.

"All right, all right. Can we _go _now?" I asked huffily, trying to sound irritated. It wasn't hard, I'll tell you.

We got outside the building without talking. The whole time that we walked with Haru and Momiji, we were all quiet. Except Momiji, of course, but when did that kid ever shut up? When they took the road to the main house and we were left alone again, the silence became noticeable and overly-obvious again. I wasn't really sure how to go about this… Though the point of this walking her home like this was to get her to choose me over Yuki, I almost felt bad. I mean… I was trying to steal some poor guy's girlfriend… Wait! No! Not just some poor guy! This was Yuki! My arch-nemesis! My sworn enemy since birth! And I wasn't going to allow him to have the girl I loved!

My strength and confidence renewed by anger, I decided to strike up a conversation. "Tohru?" I decided to boldly start out by calling her by her first name casually without a suffix.

She looked surprised but replied easily, "Yes?"

Um. Where did I go from here? "What…uh… What's your favorite animal?" I could hear Haru's voice in my head. _Idiot! What the hell was that?_ He yelled. _I don't know! I panicked! _I whimpered back angrily.

But Tohru just laughed. Of course. "I thought you knew! Cats, of course!"

Oh…right… I blushed. Maybe that wasn't such a horrible question to ask after all. I decided to amp up the pressure. "Oh, so it's not a rat now?" I asked only half-mockingly.

She blushed, too. "Oh, well…no…" she admitted. "Don't get me wrong, of course," she begged. "Rats are nice too, and I'm definitely not upset that Yuki is one, but I've always liked cats! And not just because of the stories, either! They have nice paws, and they have nice personalities: quiet, subdued, and wary, but they'll become your friends if you're good enough to gain their trust! Then they're always loyal. Cats can be volatile, but protective and relaxed, and happy…" Did she stop for the reason I thought she did? Had she realized at the same time that I had that she was describing my own personality?

All right, well… Back to Plan A? I thought about what Haru and I had talked about last night. "You have to be extremely casual, all right? Spontaneous, 'kay? Girls like that. Just get talking and…do it. You get it?" I hadn't, but I'd nodded. I'd figure it out. Couldn't be too hard, right? Wrong…

_Pick a topic, pick a topic!_ Haru chanted angrily in my head. _COME ON, ALREADY, JUST PICK A DAMN TOPIC!_ I stopped myself just in time from yelling out loud to shut the hell up – I'd pick a topic when I thought of one. And, of course, I couldn't.

"So… What's for dinner tonight?" I finally said stupidly.

"Oh! I don't know… What would you like?" she asked, smiling. Did she do _anything_ without smiling?

"Oh… Um… I'm not sure. But–"

"No leeks?" she guessed.

I grinned at her. "No leeks," I confirmed. "But maybe… dumplings? I've been wanting them for a while…"

"Great! I have all of the ingredients waiting at home!" she smiled. "Actually, I've been waiting for an excuse to make them."

"Really? Well you could have just made them, you didn't need to…wait…for anything. What would you be saving dumplings for, anyway?" I asked, trying not to sound scornful.

"I don't know…a special occasion?" she shrugged.

"Like what?"

"Well… They're pretty fancy… I got all of the herbs and spices that the restaurant uses for their dumplings, so I thought I might save them for a birthday or another visit from another Zodiac member. But you know how Momiji loves his meso…"

"Oh. Well, Shigure's birthday is next month. Mine isn't until November…"

"Really?" her face brightened in joy and surprise.

"Yeah."

She looked stunned. "But then, why… Why didn't we celebrate your birthday last November?"

"Um…" I started feeling uncomfortable. I had rather been hoping to get the information of her birthday out of her and instead we were talking about me. Again. "Nobody knew when my birthday was…"

"What?" she looked utterly bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"Well…"I sighed. "Master knows when my birthday is. And my parents did. A couple of people at the main house _might_ remember when it is, but even if they do, they don't care enough to come visit or anything. Not like I want them to."

"But… Not even Shigure and Yuki know when your birthday is? Or Kagura?" still, stunned. She was so cute when she was surprised…

"No. Strange she hasn't thought to ask me about it though, isn't it? I think Yuki knows that it's sometime in the fall. But you're the first person I've actually told."

Her eyes widened. "So… What day is it?"

"November nineteenth."

"November nineteenth…" she repeated. "I promise I'll remember, Kyo. Do you want me to tell anyone else?"

"No!" I almost yelled. She looked even more startled. "I… I mean, no, thank you." The _How to be a Gentleman_ lessons Haru had given me last night were obviously paying off. "If anyone has to know, I'm glad it's you, Tohru. But even if I had a party for myself or something, as pathetic as that sounds, I'd rather just keep it between us. It's probably better not to involve anyone else with me."

She looked sad, but she nodded, most likely just trying to respect my wishes or something. "If you insist."

"So when's your birthday?" I asked. Before she could answer, I noticed that we were only about fifteen minutes from home. I needed to get on with it. I was _so _glad I'd just said something: this meant that I could, in theory, take her hand and have it seem casual. But I _had_ to do it before she replied. Otherwise, it ruined the effect. But could I do it? I couldn't seem to pluck up the courage in a second's notice that I needed to. It wasn't in bravery, or my usual fueling anger, or anything chivalrous or interesting that made me do it, it was just pure adrenaline, nerves, but I grabbed her hand. Our palms touched, and I slid my fingers covertly in between hers.

A jolt of something went through me, this pure, ecstatic feeling that I couldn't put a name to. But suddenly, everything in the world was perfect. No Yuki, no Akito, no family, no Zodiac curse could bring an end to my joy. It was pure bliss. That moment was quick and jolting, but it was so unbelievable that I stayed happy long after. Tohru had gasped when I took her hand, but she didn't try to yank her hand back or anything, which was a very good sign. It was even better when she answered my question.

"May twenty-second."

"Really?" It was funny that I was giving her the same reaction she'd given me.

"Yes."

"So…why didn't we celebrate your birthday last year?"

"Oh, for the obvious reasons! You and the rest of the Sohmas have done _so_ much for me, and at that time last year, I was new in this situation, and I couldn't _possibly_ have asked for anyone to do something like celebrate my _birthday…_ A small thing like that! I feel ashamed that we haven't done anything for your birthdays, though, Kyo-kun! You would think that after all of the things you all have done for me, the _least_ I could do is throw a party for you on your _birthday…_"

I was about to interrupt, "Tohru, you're babbling," but then I realized something. Granted, it was hard to think about much of anything while in my bubble of bliss, but I was able to figure out that May twenty-second was only two weeks away. "Tohru, your birthday's in just a couple of weeks!"

She went quiet from her rambling. "Yes…?"

"Well, so we should celebrate!"

"Oh, no, please, Kyo, don't throw a party for me! Please? And don't tell anyone!" she begged, looking deep into my eyes as her own actually started to tear. Then I realized something else – look at how observant I'm being through my fuzzy mind! – Tohru had just called me "Kyo." No suffix, just Kyo. Like I'd called her just Tohru. She'd dropped the formality… She'd never done that for Yuki… I decided to keep this observation to myself as it didn't seem too terribly important to make note of aloud, but I was even happier than I'd been so far. Which was unbelievable. I'd never been happier in my entire life.

Then I realized Tohru was still about to cry. I jumped involuntarily. "Oh, jeez, Tohru, don't cry! Please don't cry! I – I won't tell anyone, all right? And I won't throw a party! I promise! Okay? I promise! I won't even tell Momiji! Not even if he asks!" I panicked a little. Just a little.

She wiped the tears from her eyes with her free hand. "Thank you, Kyo-kun." Damn. We were back to the suffixes. Oh well… Before, it had been a slip-up… And quick thinking always reveals the true ideas of the mind, right? So in her head, she didn't think of me as just "Kyo-kun," meaning a teenage boy she knew, maybe as a friend. I was Kyo. Plain, comfortable, simple. Kyo.

"You're welcome, Tohru."

Then, whether involuntarily or not, she squeezed my hand. I knew that Tohru might think that I was just being a friend, holding her hand like this – Momiji's done it many times, as has Kisa – but I was okay with that. For some reason, being this close to her made everything all right. So, as one-sided as my love might be, this was perfect. Things were finally looking up for the cat.

**A/N: Squee :3**


	6. New Allies

Kyo's POV

"I don't know, didn't you just…get the feeling that Tohru would end up with ol' Carrot Top?" I heard a voice ask. Stopping immediately in my tracks, I spun in the direction the voice was coming from. I peeked down a row of lockers. It was Hana and Uo, Tohru's friends. And Uo thought that Tohru would end up with me…?

"I'm not sure," Hana told the blonde. "His waves are…violent. They're violent and volatile and hasty. Do you think that Tohru would be able to handle him? What if he–"

"He wouldn't hit her. I'm sure of it."

"How can you be sure?"

I was outraged. I'd _never_ hit Tohru. I'd never hurt her at all, emotionally or otherwise, if I could possibly help it. How could one of her best friends think that I might hurt her?

"I'm just sure, Hana-chan. He wouldn't. I guess it's taken a while for me to get a good look at him, but I think that there's really more underneath all of his anger and bravado. He's a good person."

"I know he is, Uo-chan, his waves tell me so. But that doesn't change the fact that he has a horrible temper. I'd only be worried for Tohru."

"Why are we talking about this, anyway?" Uo huffed, shutting her locker. "They're not even together. It's her and the _Prince…_" she almost scoffed. They walked away in the opposite direction than me. Something about them made me think of Momiji and how he had been unwilling to help me. And Hana might think that I'd hurt Tohru, but Uo might be willing to assist me in my shenanigans!

"Hey!" I called out. "Hey! Uo-san! Hanajima-san! Wait up!" I rushed around the row of lockers. They turned, waiting for me as I walked up to them.

"What's up, Kyon-kyon?"

"Don't call me Kyon-kyon!" I snapped loudly at the Yankee. "I just… I was wondering if you'd be able to help me," I told her as calmly as I could, swallowing my pride.

"Help you? Like…with your math homework or something?"

"Uh…" I grimaced, scratching the back of my neck.

Hana spoke up. "Your waves tell me that you're feeling anxious and hopeful. It's a strange combination of emotions. Speak your mind."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You're scary, you know that?" I turned to Uo, exhaling deeply. "I…I need your help to…to get Tohru."

She looked surprised and confused. "Get Tohru? What do you mean, 'get Tohru'?"

I sighed. "I mean, like…"

"Ohhh…!" she cut in. "You _do_ like her!"

"Shut up, I do not!" I yelled. "Well…actually…yeah, I do. A lot. I think… I love her…" I felt so horribly awkward showing emotion at these two strange girls. But I'd spent so much time denying that I liked Tohru as more than a friend or a housemate that my first instinct had been instantly to not admit it.

"Ah…!" then Uo started laughing. "Kyon and Tohru, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" she sang, still laughing. I blushed bright red, partly in embarrassment and mostly in anger.

But before I could say anything, Hana saved me. "Oh, stop, Uo-chan, you're going to make Kyo-san punch a wall." Uo quieted slowly. "So," Hana turned back to me with those deep, terrifying eyes. "You want our help to woo Tohru?"

Well, 'woo' was a strange word… Really, it sounds funny. _Woo…_ But yeah, that's what I wanted to do. Heh. That rhymes. "Weird way to put it, but, yeah," I confirmed.

"Why?"

"Um… Didn't I just say that–"

"You said you thought you loved her. _Thought._ So why are you good enough for Tohru?"

Crap. Knew this would come up. But, honestly, I didn't think it would be the Wave Girl who asked me.

"Frankly, I'm not," I said, deciding to be uncharacteristically honest. "I'm not nice to people, I'm not smart, I'm not funny, I'm not wise, I'm not patient, or understanding, or caring, or lovable. But she is all of those things and so much more… How could I _not_ love her? Everything about her is absolutely amazing, and whenever she smiles, it's like I've just died. But, you know, in a happy way. And besides all of the obvious things in her personality and appearance, she's just…got this…aura… I can't describe. But she's the one. I know I will _never_ find another girl I love this much. I've decided that."

Uo and Hana exchanged a look. Uo nodded at me. "You're good. We'll help you."

I was surprised. "What? Really? Just like that?"

"Yeah. Hana-chan and I agree that you really do love her."

"After all, you can love a person for a thousand different reasons, but you don't truly love them if you can describe completely why," Hana said, sounding very wise and deep and crap.

"Right…" Uo said slowly. "So what do you want us to do, Lover Boy?"

I rolled my eyes, trying desperately not to lose my temper. "Tohru has work today until nine-thirty. I'll let Rat Boy and Momiji walk home alone today. Can you meet me and Haru at that restaurant down the street from the school? Maybe four o'clock?"

"Sure," Hana nodded. "See you there."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Haru childishly slurped his drink, his straw making obnoxious sounds. I glared at him sideways. "Sorry…" he stopped. He called over a waitress. "Can I have a refill on this please?"

She nodded. "Right away, sir."

Just then Hana and Uo came into the restaurant. I stiffened. I hadn't thought about it until Haru brought it up when we'd gotten here: this was a big moment. If this worked out, we'd have new allies and a plan. If it didn't, Tohru would find out about the whole operation and any plans we may have had would be crushed.

"Hey, Carrot Top," greeted Uo, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"Yes, very gentlemanly of you both to stand and get our chairs for us," Hana added, the only time I'd ever heard her use sarcasm.

"Sorry," I said half-heartedly. "But I want to get right down to business. What can I do to get Tohru?"

"Well," Uo started. "I don't know. Hana?"

She shrugged silently. I gaped at them in disbelief. "You said you would help me!" I accused them. "You call this help? I can sit here and think 'I don't know,' for hours! I don't need people to help me with that!" I exploded.

The waitress came back to the table with Haru's refill, looking disturbed at my outburst. "Ah, yes, can we have just two waters? We'll look over the menu and get back to you," Uo said calmly to her. The waitress nodded at her nervously and bustled away.

Haru decided to stick up for me. "So are you going to help or not?"

"We'll try, but I don't really know specifically what you want us to do for you two," Hana told us.

"Well…" I set my head in my hand. "Haru's given me _gentleman_ lessons…" Uo chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Shut up!" I snapped. "But I don't really know what to do in the field of romance…"

"Does any boy?" Uo chuckled again. I just glared at her, my upper lip quivering a little. "Have you put any moves on her yet?"

"Um…" I looked to Haru for assistance.

"He held her hand," he offered.

"Ooh!" The two girls exchanged interested glances. "Well, you _are_ a brave little thing! In front of Yuki?" asked Uo, looking for details.

"No, we were walking alone," I said.

"Oh. Well, still, it's more than I hoped for," Uo sipped her water as the waitress came back to the table.

"Are you ready to order?" the girl asked nervously. We said we were and placed our orders, waiting until the waitress left to begin speaking again.

"So," Hana began, setting down her glass. "You seem to have plenty of nerve when it comes to this. Why do you need our help?"

I looked hesitantly into her eyes. "I thought you would realize I don't have the nerve to just go up to Tohru and tell her I love her. That's why we're trying to get her to change her mind; so that I won't have to go out on a limb."

"Oh, so you're just a coward," Uo interjected.

"Why you –"

"Kyo, calm!" Haru pushed me back against my chair. "It might seem a little cowardly to them. Let me explain the way I did to Momiji."

He gave them a talk on how we just wanted to cause her a little confusion, just a little emotional strain. She would see, eventually, that she liked me more than Yuki and decide to be with me rather than him. It sounded _so_ much simpler when he said it…

"You know, this whole thing actually sounds a little dastardly to me now…" Uo considered.

"Look, I'm not trying to manipulate her or anything," I snapped.

"Actually, Kyo, we sort of are," Haru said to me quietly.

I paused. "But I just… You don't know what she means to me or how much I _hate_ Yuki! I'm not doing this just to get back at him, though, don't think that!" I exclaimed as Hana raised her eyebrows. "I love her and I want to be with her. And the way I see it, we're just providing her with options. We're letting Tohru see that there's more than just Yuki. She doesn't have to settle."

"But what if she's not settling?" Hana said contemplatively. "What if she really likes – even loves – Yuki? Not you?"

I hesitated again. "I've considered that. But I don't think that she loves him. Haru, explain our proof."

He told them about how I'd noticed that they didn't hold hands and he gave new ideas, that he hadn't ever seen them really act couple-ish or even talk to each other much, at least like a boyfriend and girlfriend would.

"You sure you've really thought this through?" Uo asked when Haru was done. She looked at both of us.

"Yes. We have," I answered for us. The girls sighed and looked at each other. They seemed to be silently communicating or something.

"All right, fine. We'll help you. For sure. What do you need?"

I smiled at Haru and then turned back to Tohru's friends. "A plan."

**A/N: I really like Hana and Uo. They remind me of my friends XD **

**I wasn't going to post this next chapter so soon, but I apparently have some very eager readers :P Thank you SO much for your comments! From now on, I'll be posting one new chapter every three days. I've finished the story already, so I can really upload any time. So from today, the next chapter will be posted on 7/21/11 (USA)**

**Thanks!**


	7. You Asked For It

Kyo's POV

"Are you _sure_ I have to do this?" I asked Haru reluctantly.

"_You_ wanted a plan. I gave you one."

"I was talking to Uo and Hana when I said that," I sighed.

"Well, do you see _them_ coming up with any brilliant ideas?" he demanded.

"I wouldn't exactly call this brilliant…" I muttered.

"Well, I would!" Haru snipped with finality.

"It seems really awkward… And potentially problematic… Plus, this has happened before! It's nothing extraordinary…"

"That's the beauty of it!" he exclaimed. "It'll be casual: nonchalant. She won't suspect anything, and neither will Yuki!"

"That's another thing…Yuki…"

"You're nervous about doing this in front of him?" he guessed correctly.

"Well, I just… I don't know!"

He sighed. "Kyo. You'll be fine! We've been over this plan a dozen times, and it's not even that complicated! Everything will go without a hitch! And being around people is what makes this idea bolt and brilliant! You'll do fine," he said solemnly.

"Okay, Haru. I trust you. Thanks."

"No, no, thank _you_!" Haru said, bowing sarcastically. "But seriously. This will be perfect. I can't wait to see the look on Yuki's face…" he smiled evilly.

I chuckled once, nervously. "Yeah, me neither. I just hope it's not a _what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing-trying-to-steal-my-girlfriend_ kind of look."

Haru laughed. "Don't worry. Oh! Here they come! Remember: stand _right_ in front of Tohru, don't trip before you get to the end of your line, wait until I say your cue, okay?"

"I've got it, Haru! Shh!"

Tohru walked over to Haru and I under a large tree with Momiji tailing her. "Hello, Kyo-kun! Haru-kun!"

"Hi, Tohru," I muttered nervously, silently kicking myself as I blushed.

"Hey, Tohru," Haru said suavely, winking. I might've hit him if he really wasn't just trying to get to be friends with her and help me. "Where's Yuki?" he asked. Oh, right. I knew there was something about the four of us that was too perfect.

"He had to stay behind to have a word with the secretary for the Student Council. He'll be here soon!" Right on time, Yuki came strolling out the front doors of the school. Tohru waved. "Yuki!" she called. He waved back, smiling, and as he got closer, Tohru skipped forward a little, meeting him half-way and taking his hand. Ah. See, she hadn't held his hand before, but _I'd_ given her the inspiration! Buahaha… I felt evil. Evil, but happy.

"Hello," Yuki called softly to the other three of us.

"Hi," Haru responded. Momiji and I didn't say anything. I didn't know why, but Momiji wasn't being very talkative today.

"Should we get going?" asked Tohru, gesturing ahead of us.

There were mumblings of agreement and we started walking, at first, in silence. Then Haru coughed a little: the signal to get going on the plan. I almost shuddered. Then he spoke.

"Hey, Kyo, weren't you just boasting about how well you can walk backwards?" he asked casually, but with a challenge in his voice.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" I tried for confused-but-casual.

"Well, this is a pretty wide, straight road. This would be the perfect place for you to prove your worth. You know, _if_ you're brave enough to try. You could trip, after all."

"Oh, come on, sissy boy! I can walk backwards on a road, for crying out loud! What kind of challenge is that?" The edge in Haru's voice was actually angering me a little bit, which I was sure was only making my acting more believable.

"Are you backing down?"

"Hell no!" I ran up ahead a little bit, then turned around. It was perfect for me that with my literally cat-like reflexes, I really was rather talented at walking backwards. At first, Tohru had seemed startled at Haru's challenge for me, but then she'd been smiling at me like she was waiting for a trick; like she was excited. Momiji even looked excited through his silence. His short-lived silence…

"Hey, that's cool, Kyo-kun! I wish _I_ could walk backwards like that! But my feet are all clumsy… I would just keep tripping…" Momiji looked down at his feet, frowning a little bit.

"Oh, that's okay, Momiji-kun," Tohru smiled at him. "You'd be good at it, I'm sure! You might just need practice!" she encouraged.

"Thanks, Tohru, you really think so?"

"Of course!" they smiled at each other.

I shifted my walking so that I was right in front of Tohru, looking at her. "Ha, see, Haru?" I asked after a minute. "I'm great at this! I could be champion at walking backwa– AAAH!" I fake-yelled. I fell forward right onto Tohru and decided to mix up the plan a little bit. Everyone else would think I just tripped, like the plan would need, but I really just outright hugged Tohru. I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her close as we toppled to the ground. But Tohru surprised me again by snaking her own arms around my shoulders, clinging to my neck. She screamed, but not frightened, just startled, I'd guess. Pressing myself against her, my ankle twisted, but I didn't feel the pain. I _did_ feel myself transform after about three too-short wonderful seconds holding onto Tohru. There was a _poof_ and I was suddenly a cat, sitting on Tohru's stomach, her hands on my back.

"Oh, Kyo -kun, are you all right?"

"I should be asking you that!" I said, trying to sound a little panicked. "You fell hard, are you okay?

"Yes, Tohru, are you okay?" Yuki bent over to help her up, but she didn't notice the hand he held out to her, just standing up and holding me: all according to plan.

"Oh, no, I'm fine. I'm so sorry, Kyo-kun, should I have moved?"

"No! I mean, it would've hurt more if you had, right? Plus, I haven't been in cat-form in a while. It feels good to stretch my tail," I purred as she held me. Tohru and Momiji giggled. Haru jumped behind us and gathered up my clothes before anyone else could.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm glad you're fine!" Tohru sighed in relief.

"Yes," Yuki agreed half-heartedly. "You can set him down now, Tohru," he suggested a little too, well, suggestively, emphasizing _set him down._

"Actually, I don't know if I can walk," I said, not having to fake a little pain in my voice and a little cat-moan. The pain in my ankle started to show itself. "I twisted my ankle when I tripped."

"Kyo-kun! We'll need to get some ice on it when we get home! I'll carry you, don't worry!"

I smiled up at her as best I could. "Thank you, Tohru," I said a little awkwardly. I then looked at Yuki, curious to see his expression. Oh. Heh… It was a _what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing-trying-to-steal-my-girlfriend _look.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"It's great that you guys are staying over again tonight!" Tohru exclaimed excitedly as we were almost to Shigure's house.

"Yeah… Is there a reason for that?" Yuki asked suspiciously.

"Of course there is!" Momiji replied, surprising me. "We love staying over here! Tohru's cooking is _fabulous!_ Plus, we don't get to just spend time together usually. It's great being with you guys!"

"Oh. Well, thank you, Momiji-kun, but I was really more questioning why you're staying over here so often _now_."

"Oh," Momiji looked perplexed. He looked up at Haru questioningly. "Haru, why _are_ we staying over here so often now?"

Haru sighed. He looked at me and said, "Can I tell them?" I was so surprised I didn't even say anything. He was going to just _tell _them all about it? Why? What the hell! I tried to send a warning signal of death should he tell them anything through my eyes since my voice apparently didn't work anymore, and I just hoped he'd catch on. He opened his mouth to speak again. Crap. "Kyo's been helping me study for my mid-terms. I just can't grasp some of these concepts in science."

Oh. A lie. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Kyo-kun! I didn't know you were good at science!" Tohru exclaimed, smiling down at me in her arms. I was definitely glad that this time, it was taking me a while to transform back. I was reclined in her arms, and occasionally, she'd stroke my fur or scratch me behind the ears. I'd purr in contentment and I swear I could feel her chuckle silently, then she'd continue or just hold me tighter. Yuki would look over at us enviously every time I purred. _Jealous?_ I'd think smugly. _Then _you_ should have come up with the plan first._

"Well, it's not really something I advertise…" I mumbled in modesty. I really was good at science. Science and literature were actually my best subjects. In literature, I was even better than Yuki.

"Maybe you could help me sometime?" she asked imploringly. "I'm completely lost when it comes to osmosis and the forming of micro-biotic molecules!" she sweatdropped.

"Tohru, I'd be happy to help you if you need it," Yuki offered pleadingly, almost sounding desperate.

"Did she ask you, Rat Boy?" I taunted. "Sure, Tohru, if you want me to, I'll help you. Anytime."

"Oh, thank you, Kyo-kun! Yuki, I might still need your help with math though… Would that be okay?"

"Of course," he said, sounding relieved.

"Haru-kun," Momiji started, sounding concerned. "If you needed help, why didn't you tell me? You know I take about three pages of notes for every class. You could have asked me if you needed something explained."

"Well, I thought it would be good to ask an older student about the kinds of questions they put on the tests, that way it would be easier to find what I needed to study and do so. You get it?"

"Oh, yeah. That's pretty genius, Haru-kun! Yuki-kun, do you think you could help me in math, too?"

"Sure, Momiji-kun," Yuki smiled at the boy.

"Thanks!"

"Oh, we're here," Tohru observed. "Kyo-kun, we'll need to get some ice on your ankle," she repeated.

"Oh yeah…" Funny, how I could almost completely forget about the growing pain until she mentioned it again.

We got inside and immediately, Shigure was there to greet us. "Hello, children, hello, children!" he said over-enthusiastically. "Relax, have a seat, all that jazz. We have leftover stew for dinner so everyone had better be hungry!" he exclaimed, grinning. Then he noticed me. "Oh, look. Kyo-kun, what happened?"

"He tripped," Haru explained, murmuring. "And crashed right into Tohru."

"Of course. Kyo-kun, you should really be more careful! And you shouldn't fall into young ladies, it's rude!"

"I don't give a damn! I need ice!"

"Oh, yes!" Tohru quickly set me down on a throw pillow on the floor. "I'll get it!"

"He twisted his ankle when he fell," continued Haru at Shigure's questioning look, "and Tohru, I guess, wanted to play nurse."

She came back into the room as if on cue with a box full of bandages, alcohol wipes, hypodermic needles, even medicinal brandy, and what seemed like everything else that could be kept in a house for small medical emergencies.

"You have a small _hospital_ in there, Tohru. I thought I just needed ice!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, well, I wanted to be prepared!" she smiled nervously, dropping down onto the floor next to me. Suddenly, _poof!_ "AHH!" Tohru shrieked, turning around quickly. I clothed myself hurriedly, gasping and wincing a couple of times while failing at trying to be mindful of my injured ankle.

When I was done, Tohru turned back around. "Momiji, would you like to come and see my math notes from last year? I might be able to help you out for a while since Tohru's busy."

"Oh, okay, thanks, Yuki-kun!" Momiji smiled at him. "Feel better, Kyo!"

"Thanks, twerp," I muttered back at him.

Then Haru did what he did best as my lieutenant: getting Tohru and I alone. "Shigure, I wanted to talk to you about one of the trees outside. It looks like if it storms, the tree could fall into the roof."

"Oh, goodness! My house!" Shigure fretted. "Show me, please!"

A minute passed in silence while Tohru held an ice pack gingerly on my ankle, observing the now purpling swelling.

"I guess it's a good thing you transformed when you did," Tohru chuckled. "I wasn't sure how to take care of a cat's ankle."

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think of that," I said lamely. "Do… Do you think it's broken?" I asked, that possibility just now occurring to me.

"No, no, probably sprained though," she said. "You should be able to walk on it soon after I get it bandaged up, and it will hopefully be fine in a couple of days."

"Oh. Well, thank you, Tohru," I said lamely, again. "And thanks for carrying me, too."

"Well you couldn't walk!"

"Yes, but one of the others could have held me. Just thank you for taking special care of me."

"Of course," she smiled. "Anything to help!" she said brightly.

Bravely, I took her hand in my own, rubbing my thumb against the back of her hand. "It means a lot to me. Really," I tried for a small smile. I couldn't say it with my voice, but maybe I could say it with my eyes… _Tohru, I love you. I love you so much,_ I tried to say. She smiled back at me but gave no indication that my silent message had gotten through.

"Well, you're special to me, Kyo-kun! Is there anything else I can do?"

"No, no, thank you for everything you've already done. You can go upstairs with Momiji if you want when we're done here."

"You're welcome, Kyo-kun! It's no trouble! And thank you for letting me go."

Letting her go? Not like I was going to hold her for ransom here or anything! "Could you just send Haru to me first?"

"Of course! Hope you feel better, Kyo-kun!" She seemed to hesitate, then she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, blushing, and stood up to go outside and get Haru. I blushed furiously. My cheeks felt like they'd explode. I lifted my hand up to my face like I'd seen in too many cliché situations where her lips had touched my cheek.

Tohru came back in and quickly walked up the stairs with a small wave to me. I waved back. I heard more footsteps coming into the house. I tried to sit up, and gasped when my ankle throbbed painfully. Haru stuck his head around the doorframe. He laughed. "_You _asked for it!"

**A/N: You like it? I liked the humorous quality in this one :) **

**Next chapter on 7/24/11!**


	8. Awkward

Haru's POV

Dinner that night was…interesting.

It only took a few minutes for Kyo to disclose to me what had happened when I was outside and what was going on and all that, so we had lots of time to talk. We sat in the same position on the floor for about an hour coming up with ideas to end our session with none. All the plans were too insensitive or too impulsive, or too out-of-character, and it just didn't work.

Needless to say, we were very discouraged.

Luckily, however, no one bothered us the entire time. Shigure stayed outside, calling lawn services and Hatori, trying to get the accursed tree branch down before it "broke his precious house, like he didn't have teenagers to do that for him." I assume that the other three really did just study the entire time. I guess I should have gone upstairs to make sure, but Kyo wanted to keep talking and assured me that Momiji would stop the happy little couple from getting too excited.

Not long after we'd run out of things to talk about and started just staring at the staircase, Tohru ran down it: the person we'd been waiting for.

"Oh, hello! Are you hungry?" she asked us cheerfully. We're growing boys. What do _you_ think? We both nodded our heads quickly and repeatedly until I felt that my neck would just snap. She laughed. "Yuki and Momiji are hungry too. I was just getting in to heat up the leftovers."

She walked into the kitchen and like stalkers with nothing better to do (which we didn't), we just stared at the kitchen doorway like we had the staircase, waiting for Tohru. And dinner. Both were suddenly equally important.

Soon, the smell of Tohru's stew wafted from the kitchen into the common space. Just as my stomach started rumbling, Yuki and Momiji came trotting quickly down the stairs, seemingly having smelled the stew, too. They sat down at the table and I helped Kyo scoot himself over to a side of the table where I sat next to him.

Shigure came in, too. He sighed. "The lawn service won't come over to hack the accursed branch down until Wednesday," he said sadly. "And the weatherman is predicting a thunderstorm on Tuesday!" he whined. "What if it falls in? It would smash straight into Tohru-kun's bedroom, possibly killing her! What am I to _do?_"

Kyo's eyes widened. "It's right over her bedroom?"

Yuki seemed calm and relaxed as normal. "It should be fine, Shigure. That branch has been like that for months. What are the chances that it will fall in tomorrow night?"

"There is about a twenty-three point seventy-six percent chance that it will!" said Momiji proudly. "Yuki-kun has been helping me with my ratios and probability!" he smiled.

Yuki smiled down at him. "That's very good!"

"Okay, everybody ready for dinner?" Tohru came into the room with a large pot and six bowls, grinning. Hunger seemed like an emotion to me now, smelling the food so close up.

After we all served ourselves, though, no one talked. At all. The whole room was silent, just the clinking of bowls made any noise at all. I'd not once looked up from my food to see really what was going on, but when I did, I almost wished that I hadn't. The atmosphere was tense and, well, awkward.

Tohru would every so often glance over at Kyo worriedly or Yuki lovingly, then blush a little. Momiji would look at Tohru or Kyo, with friendship or suspicion. Kyo was just as hungry as I was and was obviously just trying to eat, but he also looked up at Tohru sort of desperately or sadly, then glare at Yuki before looking back at his bowl. Yuki just glared at Kyo. Non-stop. The _entire_ time, he was just glaring angrily at Kyo. He never even looked all lovingly back at Tohru. Shigure just sat, looking distressed.

After dinner, when Tohru took all of the dishes into the kitchen, we all kept sitting. The five of us sat awkwardly, looking or glaring at each other. But no one was glaring at me, so I got up to go and help Tohru. Yuki didn't even glance in my direction.

"Hello, Tohru," I greeted as I walked into the kitchen. She jumped and spun around. "Sorry to startle you," I apologized.

"Oh, no, Haru-kun, it's fine!" she exclaimed quietly.

"Dinner was really good; thank you," I said politely. "Hey," I said before she could reply. "Do you know what's going on out there?"

"You mean with all the glaring and glancing and whatnot?" she looked nervous.

"Yeah. What's up with that?"

"I really don't know," she worried, scrubbing a dish. "But did you see Yuki? He never looked away from Kyo… I wonder what's going on…"

"Yeah, me too…" Silence while she scrubbed more dishes. "I can't stand the silence anymore, though," I told her, just to make noise.

"Me neither! What's going on?" she repeated. We both peeked from around the doorway. It had now just turned into a glaring match, with Kyo glaring back at Yuki now. Momiji and Shigure watched the two of them, back and forth, back and forth, like a silent tennis match. "Maybe if we go out there, they'll talk?" she asked, unsure.

"Maybe," I half-heartedly agreed. We both walked back out into the tense atmosphere again. Momiji and Shigure glanced up once then looked back at the two boys. "So much for that," I whispered to Tohru as quietly as I could.

She sort of sweatdropped. "Um… How about a game?" she asked quietly, attracting no one's attention.

"I could run out and get some kind of dessert," I offered. No one looked up. I turned to Tohru again. "This is getting creepy…"

She sighed. "They're not doing any harm to each other, so I think I'll go and do homework. Momiji-kun, would you like to come with me?"

He did a double-take and looked up at Tohru. "Um…what? Sorry."

"Would you like to come and do homework with me?"

"Oh, yeah! Great! Shigure-sensei…tell me how it turns out, okay?"

"Yeah…'kay…" he mumbled, not really paying attention.

I decided to just let Momiji and Tohru go upstairs. I stood there awkwardly for a minute, just watching the remaining three losers in the room. I thought about my options. None of them seemed good. I shrugged, then sat down next to Shigure in Momiji's place.

"Do _you_ know what's going on?" I asked Shigure quietly, just watching the two as he'd been doing for a while.

"I was going to ask you that, actually, Haru-kun," he murmured.

"Why me?"

"Well, you and Kyo-kun have been talking a lot on your own. I thought you might be, I don't know…up to something." He sounded suspicious. Kyo twitched, like he'd heard what Shigure had said. Had he?

_I only hope Yuki hasn't come to the same conclusion as Shigure… Especially if he connects it with Tohru… Could he know how Kyo feels?_

"No. He's been helping me study for the science midterm," I said, as innocent and casual as I could.

He lifted an eyebrow but said, "Okay. Just wondered."

I nodded my head.

I don't know how long the four of us sat there like that, but none of us ever shifted position or talked again for a long time. Then finally, "Oh, it _is_ getting late…" Shigure noted, looking at the clock. "Almost ten."

Just then, Momiji trudged down the stairs, yawning. "Tohru went to bed…said she was tired…said we could do more in the morning before school if I wanted… I'm gonna go to the garage, 'kay?" he asked sleepily.

"Of course, Momiji-kun, but I think you mean the guest room... Haru-kun, would you like to get your bed set up as well?"

"Um…I think I'll wait for Kyo and help him get to bed. You know, with his ankle and everything..."

"Oh, right. Well thank you for that. Saves me the trouble. I think I'll go to bed too, actually…" Shigure stood up and stretched, putting a hand on his back. "Ah… Getting old is not for the faint of heart, I'll tell you," he chuckled. "Goodnight!"

With Momiji and Shigure out of the room, the atmosphere got a whole lot thicker. No idea why, it just did. Then Yuki actually moved. He narrowed his eyes in a very threatening way that I hoped didn't mean _stay away from my girlfriend, stupid cat._ Kyo narrowed his eyes then, too. Yuki closed his eyes completely, then opened them again and stood up.

"Yes, well, I think I'll be off to sleep now. Goodnight."

"'Night…" I said confusedly.

Kyo growled. I waited until I heard Yuki get to his room and shut the door. Then I rounded on Kyo. "What the hell was all that about!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked gruffly.

"You two have been glaring at each other for…" I checked my watch, "…three hours! What the hell!"

"Hm. Only felt like minutes," he muttered. "Well, if you didn't know, that was his _what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing-trying-to-steal-my-girlfriend_ look. Hate to say it, but I _did_ tell you so."

"So you think he's figured us out, then?" I put my hands on my hips.

"Maybe. If he hasn't by now, then he will soon. He didn't like the way that Tohru carried me home today. Or how she treated my ankle. Or any attention she gives me at all, really."

"Yeah, but did it really necessitate a three-hour staring contest to the death?"

He snorted. "I guess not. But when he was glaring at me, I just couldn't walk away from it. I had to show him I could play, too."

"Stupid pride. It will be humankind's downfall, I swear," I muttered.

"Maybe it will be. Then it'll be _your_ turn to say 'I told you so.'" He chuckled.

"Right. Well, do you want help getting up to your room, or do you want to stay down here?" I asked.

He hesitated in thought.

"Can you bring me a blanket?" he finally asked.

"You're staying down here?"

"Guess so," he muttered. "I don't think I can walk on it yet," he said, sounding apologetic.

"It's fine. Be right back." I ran upstairs and into the hall closet, where I found a thick fleece blanket.

I chuckled when, upon unfolding it, I found that it had a picture on it of orange cats. Perfect.

When I got back downstairs, Kyo had curled up with his knees to his chest with his head on the same pillow he'd been using earlier. He looked contemplative. "Here," I said to him, draping the blanket over him.

"Thanks," he mumbled, looking at me.

"No problem. We'll talk more in the morning?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, goodnight…" I felt a little awkward.

"Goodnight, Haru."

**A/N: You would not BELIEVE how hard it was to get past this chapter… And it was all basically just filler! Still, I worked on this chapter for about…two days? I don't know, but it was quite time-consuming, so it would mean a LOT to me if you'd review! :D**


	9. Almost Caught

**A/N: Before we get started, I got a comment that said "Update soon !" I was **_**so**_** appreciative! Just to let you all know, once I've started a story, I usually try to post a new chapter every three days. But only if the story's finished. If it'll take longer to post, I'll always let you know! **

**-Pathway 3**

Kyo's POV

_Dammit!_ I cursed again in my mind, wincing at the sharp, then throbbing pain.

When had I decided it was a bad idea after all to sleep downstairs? Was it when it was so cold, the fleece blanket felt like a quilt made of napkins? Was it when the shadows against the walls made strange shapes that I just wasn't accustomed to? Was it when Shigure sleep-walked downstairs to go into the kitchen, then got ice cream out of the freezer singing quietly to himself about high school girls? …Yeah, it was right about then.

But I couldn't just get up and go on my own. But I also couldn't wake anyone else up without waking them _all_ up… Well, I could crawl…

So I'd gotten myself into a crawling position, then draped the blanket over my back so that I could take it with me. Then I'd crawled over to the stairs without a hitch. But when I tried to crawl up the stairs… _Crap! _My ankle didn't like my brilliant idea. Now normally, I'd think _stupid ankle, I do what I want!_ But tonight, it was fighting back. And it hurt like hell. In other words, my ankle was a good negotiator.

But I found a solution! Feeling stupid, I put my injured ankle up in the air and crawled with just one knee. That worked for about five steps. Out of thirty.

Then I tried just getting up the stairs on my knees. That worked for three steps, then my knees hurt. Without the use of my knees, I turned around so that I was sitting on the steps. I then hoisted myself upwards with my arms. This worked very well, for about twelve steps, but then my ankle started getting in the way, hitting each step it encountered.

With ten steps left to go, I turned back onto my stomach and started pulling myself up again with my ankle in the air, like earlier. After two steps, I gave up. I groaned, letting myself fall flat onto my face. My arms laid limply at my side and I let my ankle flop down on the stairs. Painfully. "Gah-!" I almost-yelled. I had to remember to be quiet…!

"Kyo-kun?"

So much for quiet…

"Kyo-kun, what are you doing on the stairs?" Tohru asked, taking a few steps closer to me. I could only hear, as I didn't feel like lifting my head to look up.

"Well, I couldn't stand sleeping in that damn cold room anymore. I needed to go to bed in my own room. So I tried getting upstairs on my own, but that hasn't been working out so well for me."

"Why didn't you ask anyone for help?" she sounded concerned.

"No one was conveniently sitting near me, waiting to ask if I needed help," I said, irritated. "And if I yelled for anyone, it would just wake _everyone_ up. So why bother?"

She paused. "Well, why don't I help you?"

"If you want…" I muttered, half-hoping she would and half-_knowing_ she would. She took my hands – which surprised me and made me blush, even as tired as I was – and started pulling me upwards, dragging me up the stairs. I was smart enough to lift my ankle before it hit the stairs and I tried as best as I could to help Tohru in getting me up the stairs. The remaining ten stairs weren't that hard, and we got up rather quickly.

"There," she said triumphantly as we got to the landing.

"You think you could get me to my room?" I asked incredulously, watching her as she yawned, tired.

"Uh…" My room was at the other end of the hall and would take at least another few minutes of dragging. "How about you stay in my room tonight?"

My eyes widened and a blush flooded my cheeks. "S-stay in your r-room?" I stuttered.

"Yes. It's closer and I have some extra pillows and things."

"Um…okay…"

"Great! Sleepover!" How could she seem so…not bothered by that?

She pulled me just a little farther into a doorway that was lit with a small lamp sitting on her bedside table. It then occurred to me: "Did I wake you up?" I asked, feeling sorry now.

"Oh, no, no, you didn't," she assured me.

"Then what were you doing up?" I asked concernedly.

"Um…" she hesitated. "Well… I was doing science homework, actually…"

"Oh. Did you not finish earlier?" I asked as I inched myself next to her bed, laying down the fleece blanket like a mattress that I could lay on.

"No. I got to question nine and then I was too tired. I just had to go to sleep. But then I had an anxiety dream…" she shuddered.

"What happened? In your dream, I mean, " I asked, curious. She went to her closet and pulled out two extra pillows and a thick afghan blanket.

She sighed. "I went to school tomorrow, forgetting that I hadn't finished my homework. Then when it was time to turn it in, I couldn't. And the sensei told me that I'd failed not only the assignment or the class, but the entire grade! Then they expelled me! And I never got into college or even graduated high school, and then my mom was there, and she said that she was really disappointed and –"

"Tohru, Tohru, calm down," I tried to soothe from my position on the floor. She was hyperventilating and a few tears were forming in her eyes. "It was just a dream, right? But that's why you woke up – to finish your science homework, right?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I couldn't stand it if I didn't finish it tonight. Or rather," she looked at her clock, "this morning. It's already four o'clock."

"How long have you been up?"

"Since two…" she muttered, climbing on her bed after handing me the pillows and blanket.

"Two hours and you're still not finished!" I exclaimed. "What's the hold-up?"

"Well, I don't really get succession…"

"Well, good thing I do, I guess," I told her, smirking. "What question are you on?"

"Nine…"

"Nine?" I was honestly shocked. I thought Tohru was a really good student! After hours of homework, she was only on question _nine_ out of _twenty_?

"I told you," she sighed, "I'm not good at science! I don't get succession!"

"What's not to get? You start out with dirt and lichen and eventually trees form!" I was actually starting to get sort of annoyed.

"Well, what's the difference between primary and secondary succession?" she looked frantic.

I sighed. I was sorry for bursting out like that. "Primary succession," I explained calmly, "is when you start with nothing. Like when a volcano erupts and the lava makes a new island?" She nodded. "First, grass forms. Then lichen form on the rock. Then ferns and smaller shrubs sprout, then eventually trees. Then animals will inhabit the island and so on. Do you get it?"

"Yes. But what's secondary succession?"

"Secondary succession is when you already have a fully-developed piece of land. But then something happens to it, like a forest fire, and leaves you with nothing. Just scorched dirt. And then it's primary succession all over again. The difference is that once, you started with nothing, and once, you'd already had something when succession began. Do you still get it?"

"Yes! Thank you, Kyo-kun! I now have question nine!"

"Why, what was it?"

"'What is secondary succession?'" she read off.

_Oh good Lord…_ I thought to myself, exasperated. "Okay, anything else you need help with?" It turned out that yes, there _were_ other things she needed help with. A _lot_ of things. She needed to know the definition of symbiosis and the differences between physical and chemical changes. She didn't know how to set up a Punnett square or how to determine the brightness and temperature of a star based on an H-R diagram. We stayed up the rest of the night going over basically every lesson we'd learned that year, through astronomy, molecular science, the elements and even lab safety. The girl was really _not_ a scientist. We finally finished a good amount of studying – or at least what she needed to pass the midterms.

"So what's your favorite subject? It can't be science," I asked Tohru jokingly after we should have been normally getting up for school.

"Hmm… I think my favorite is literature," she said thoughtfully.

"Ah, my other best subject," I joked. "Why, do you think?"

"Well, I'm good with grammar. I just _get_ how the words and phrases fit together, I guess. It's easy, and I like to read and write."

"Oh. Good answer," I smiled.

"Thank you," she smiled, too. Then she frowned a bit. "So…you and Haru have _just_ been studying?" she asked, obviously trying to sound nonchalant. The tone in her voice was just a little too suspicious, however. I raised an eyebrow. She caught herself and she blushed. "I just meant that you've spent quite a bit of time talking! It's just almost as if you've been planning something, and when Shigure-san brought it up earlier, I thought he might be on to something! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!"

"Tohru, it's fine. We have been studying. That's all."

"Oh, okay…" she sounded embarrassed, but almost doubtful.

"Do you believe me?" I asked her, surprised and curious as to her answer.

"Of course! I mean, if you say that you two have just been studying, I have no reason not to believe you! I'm sorry for making you think otherwise!"

"Tohru, seriously, it's okay. Chill out."

"Okay," she said in a small voice. A moment of silence passed while she started packing her things up into her backpack.

Then I thought of something I really wanted to know from her. "Hey, Tohru? If Haru and I _were_ planning something – hypothetically, you understand – what do you think we'd be planning?"

She didn't look too surprised. "With how Yuki's acting around you now? I'd say you were doing something that would affect him personally. So you might be planning something for his garden or to sabotage him in some way. I really couldn't guess, though."

Ha! She'd almost caught us. I shook my head at her, smiling. "You know? You really can be extremely smart sometimes, Tohru…"

"Oh, thank you!" she smiled, blushing a little. I shook my head slowly, smiling at her lack of understanding. She needed help with more than just science homework.

**A/N: This was like Chapter 8… I didn't want to write, it was two o'clock in the morning, but I just HAD to get this chapter done! Luckily, unlike Chapter 8, I was able to just fly through this one once I started typing. Review, please, so that I can feel better about myself! ;')**


	10. Really Caught

Kyo's POV

It was Saturday, so of course, I had no idea how to occupy myself. Haru and Momiji were staying until Sunday afternoon so that they could go to sleep early for midterms and have clean clothes for school on Monday. Haru said that he could spend most of his time with me, planning, but that he would have to set some time away to study.

That was fine with me. It was great having Haru on my side – he was a perfect ally and a terrible enemy – but I needed some time alone from him sometimes, just to think or do something on my own. Just have a little freedom, you know?

All of the plans we came up with this morning were the same as all the others: awkward, redundant, violent, or just plain strange.

"Should we be including the girls in this?" Haru asked eventually, sighing and putting his head in his hands.

"Why?"

"Why?" he repeated incredulously. "Because we can't come up with _squat!_ We have _no_ idea how to proceed!"

"And we need them to be able to proceed?"

"Maybe!" he countered.

I sighed, too. "Fine. Get them on the phone."

He typed a number into his cell phone and turned the switch onto Speaker. We waited for a moment. Then, "Hello?"

"Hey, Uo-kun! Any way you could come over here and help us out a little? We're sorta dried-out on ideas."

"Ooh, no can do, McPunker Pants." Haru rolled his eyes at Uo's new nickname for him. I chuckled. Now I wasn't the only one…

"Why not?"

"I have chores and studying! Have you forgotten the midterms? They're on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, remember?"

"Yes, yes, I _remember_ when the midterms are!" Haru said impatiently.

"Okay, no need to be snippy. What about Hana-chan? Have you tried her?"

"No, we thought you'd be available and we wouldn't have to disturb her."

"You know I would have disturbed her anyway," said Uo, chuckling.

"True. Well, we'll call her. Thanks anyway."

"No prob. Next time, I'll be more than willing to help."

"Great, thanks." He shut the phone with a _click._ "Well, I was _hoping_ that Uo would be the quick and easy solution, but let's see if Sparky will be able to help, huh?"

"Guess so," I said, already bored.

Haru was already halfway through dialing the number when he stopped and turned to me curiously, staring at my expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I shrugged.

"No, something. Hey, what if we take a break? I'll go study, you can just relax, and when you feel a little better, we'll call Hana, 'kay?"

"Okay," I agreed. It didn't really matter to me what we did, which surprised me a little bit. Shouldn't I be throwing myself out there, trying to come up with plans to win Tohru over? But yet I felt so…lazy. I was just sitting here, perfectly happy to be alone, not doing anything productive. Like I would have been doing on a normal Saturday… Haru smiled concernedly and walked out, waving a little.

Laying my head down, I noticed the clock. It was already three o'clock in the afternoon, Haru would be going home at about this time tomorrow, and they hadn't thought up _anything. _

"Hey, lazy," said a voice from the door. Appeased that it wasn't Tohru or Rat Boy, I gave a noncommittal grunt in reply. "I have you figured out," Shigure said knowingly, coming around to face me.

"Really," I drawled. "Do you, now?" I asked sarcastically.

"I believe that I do," Shigure said, winking. I waited expectantly, raising my eyebrows when Shigure didn't say anything for a moment or two. Then he smiled gleefully. "You have a thing for Tohru…!" he sang.

Blush instantly rushed up into my cheeks and my expression turned into one of panic. "NO I DON'T YOU STUPID DOG! AND EVEN IF I DID, HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? YOU DON'T KNOW ME! I COULD THINK ANYTHING ABOUT TOHRU AND YOU WOULDN'T KNOW WHAT IT WAS!" I yelled at him.

"Oh, come now, Kyo-kun," Shigure said, chastising me. "It's obvious! Why, I should have guessed when you and Haru had started talking so secretively that it was something about her! It's rather obvious that you're in love with her!"

My anger building, I yelled again. "AM NOT!"

"Oh, but you are," Shigure smiled. "Don't worry, it's cute. And I think she likes you, too."

The anger instantly vanished and I sat by Shigure. "What? How do you know? Has she said anything?"

"No."

"Well, then how do _you_ know? And shouldn't you be on Yuki's side!"

"Yuki?" Shigure asked, tilting his head like a dog would. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" I demanded. "I mean, he's always been your preference over me, and they're together and everything now and –"

"What?" he exclaimed, looking shocked. "They're…_together? _Like, _together_, together?"

I rolled my eyes at his immature behavior. "Yes! How could you not know?"

"Uh…I don't know! I didn't think Yuki liked her that way!"

"WELL, APPARENTLY, HE DOES!" I roared, slamming my head down into my pillow.

"How long have they been an item?" Shigure asked after a moment.

"Only a few days."

"Oh…" he was silent again. Or, as silent as Shigure was capable of, still muttering to himself quietly as I tried to smother myself in my pillow. "So, how goes your quest for Tohru's heart?"

"Not so good," I mumbled into my pillow.

"What was that?" Shigure asked, sounding concerned.

"Not so good," I repeated, lifting my head. "I'm… I'm actually thinking about giving up." I surprised myself: I actually hadn't really thought about that until I said it.

"Oh… Well, but you still have hope. You couldn't have kept going for so long if you knew your efforts would be fruitless, right?"

"I guess that's right…" I said, surprised again. He actually had a point.

"See? You can give yourself hope with little things like that! And when you can't give yourself hope, you can come to me!" he grinned.

His self-inflated statement popped my optimistic bubble. "Right. I'll remember that."

"Good. So. What do you need?"

"You mean, you're going to help me?"

"Yep! You and Haru can count me in with your scheming."

"Actually, Uo-san and Hanajima-san are in on it, too."

"Oh, so that makes five!" Shigure said gleefully. "We have a much better chance for you if we're all putting our heads together for you!"

"Yeah…thanks… If you come up with anything, let me know," I said irritably, putting my face back into my pillow, but without the want to kill myself now.

"Will do!" I heard Shigure leave the room, quietly closing the door.

Shigure had caught me. I guess writing those stupid novels was doing something for him, with his being able to notice how I felt. And he had a point: having more people on my side to come up with ideas, to create set-ups, distract Yuki and to mold romantic situations would be a good thing. With four other people working with me, I might actually have a chance…

I turned my head on my pillow, and I felt my eyes close slowly and sleepily. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I curled up and exhaled, ready for sweet dreams.

**A/N: Hmm. Have you got anything to say about this chapter? 'Cause I don't. Hmm… Well, review, if you do! 3**


	11. My Own Army

Kyo's POV

"Aaya!" I heard Shigure's voice echoing from downstairs. "Oh, I've missed you! It's been too long!"

"It has indeed, Gure-sensei! Much, much too long!"

My eyes opened as I started out of sleep, then widened. "Oh, good Lord, no…" I muttered. I jumped out of bed and stormed down the stairs, really hoping _not_ to see who I knew I would see.

"And Kyo-kun! How wonderful to see you! While maybe I should be supporting my brother in his romantic endeavors, I do believe that you and Tohru-chan make a much cuter couple," he smiled, winking at me.

My first reaction was shock, then frustration, then pure fury. I turned on Shigure. "YOU BASTARD! YOU _TOLD HIM!_"

"Well, of course I told him!" Shigure looked shocked.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'OF COURSE YOU TOLD HIM'?"

"Well, you seemed to accept my idea of having more help, so I figured I'd help you recruit!"

"RECRUIT?"

"Yeah! Finding you more help!"

"I DON'T NEED ANYMORE HELP!"

"Oh, Kyo-kun," Ayame sighed. "It hurts me to see you yelling at Shigure-san like this! Especially when he was _only_ trying to help you…"

"SHUT UP!" I couldn't believe it! He'd told _AYAME?_ Of all people, _Ayame?_ "Come on, Shigure! HIM!" I calmed down a little, but only enough so that my yells were understandable. "I would have been upset but overall okay if you'd told like, Kisa or Hatori or something, but _Ayame?_"

"Well, I thought he might like to help…"

"And I do!" grinned Yuki's brother. "I love assisting young ones in affairs of the heart! Why, Mine was just telling me about her sister, whose boyfriend just – "

"I DON'T CARE!" I roared. "Shigure, how COULD YOU?"

"Well –"

"YOU KNOW WHAT? JUST NEVERMIND! TELL THE WHOLE FAMILY, WHY DON'T YOU!"

"He's working on it," Ayame chuckled.

"_WHAT?_" I could _not_ believe what I was hearing. Why had I even thought to trust Shigure in the first place? Shouldn't I have _known_ that he would have let me down some way or another.

"Uh…well…you just said you'd be okay if I told Kisa or Hatori…"

"YOU TOLD KISA AND HATORI?"

"And Ritsu, and Hiro, and Kagura…"

"OH, WELL THAT'S ALL OF US, ISN'T IT? GLAD WE'RE ALL INFORMED NOW!"

"Kyo-kun, calm down! We're here to help!" I suddenly heard the small, sweet voice of Kisa from behind me. "Really! We just want you and Sissy to be happy together!" She looked pleading, wanting me to believe her.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "You really think it's possible?"

She smiled a shy little grin. "Yes, I do! You two would be very nice together."

I smirked a little, feeling my face softening. "Thank you, Kisa-chan."

She grinned wider. "You're welcome!" she wrapped her small arms around my waist, and I hugged her back. Then she took my hand and began leading me into the kitchen, where Ritsu was chopping some vegetables, and Hiro, Hatori, Haru and Kagura were drinking cups of milk. "You need ideas, right?" Kisa asked excitedly. "We can help! We can give you all the ideas you need to help Tohru fall in love with you!"

"That is, _if_ she doesn't think he's a total jerk like he _is_…" Hiro muttered into his cup.

"Hey!" I protested. "Kisa said you were here to help! Was she lying?" I sneered.

Hiro sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes. "I'm only here because Kisa wanted me to come. Otherwise, I'd be perfectly happy watching the television at home. Don't worry – I don't really care whether or not you're happy."

"Oh, Hiro-kun, that's a horrible thing to say!" Kisa said, looking appalled at her friend's behavior. "_I _care if he's happy! Don't you want Tohru-chan to be happy?"

He raised an eyebrow. Kisa looked at him pleadingly. He sighed. "Yes. It is my deepest wish that Tohru and Kyo-kun fall madly in love, then get married and have dozens of babies, happy forever in a world where life is fair and there's no curse. By all means, let's help!" His voice dripped with sarcasm, but Kisa grinned, looking satisfied.

"Good! Let's get started!"

I sat down on the countertop, watching the other five people in the room, who were as silent as I. I glanced at Hatori. "Hatori-san, you don't need to help. I'm sure you think this is stupid."

"On the contrary, I think I should be here. Needless to say, I do believe I'd be the natural voice of reason among the rest of your helpers. Wouldn't want Tohru ending up dead because someone thinks it's romantic to have a date on the edge of a cliff."

"We wouldn't tell them to have a date on the edge of a cliff!" said Ritsu, looking stunned. His long blond hair swung around as he turned to look at Hatori. "Do you really think we're so ignorant?" His eyes widened. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to offend you or anything! I just meant that we wouldn't tell them to do that because we really _do_ know that that would be dangerous and ill-advised! I'm sorry!"

"It's fine, Ritsu-kun, really." Hatori put his chin in his hand, looking at Kagura. "Kagura-kun, I was actually unsure as to whether or not you'd want to help. I'm glad you do, though, don't get me wrong."

"Yes, I want to help," Kagura said, sighing. I only now realized that this was the first time I'd been in the same room with the boar without being beaten to a pulp or kissed to death in the first two minutes. "I just want Kyo-kun to be happy. Whether it's with me or Tohru-chan, he deserves love." She looked at me. "Everyone deserves love."

I felt…almost guilty… _Don't feel guilty!_ I chastised myself. _There's nothing you can do! You don't love her! You can't help it if you love Tohru!_ As it was, I looked away from her.

Ritsu took a large bowl filled with chopped vegetables and gestured towards the living room. "How about we all sit in the living room? It seems fairly crowded in here…" His eyes widened. "Not that any of you are crowding me or each other or anything! You're all fine, and there's more than enough room for all of us! Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm wasting your lives, telling you to change rooms! I'm so sorry!" he wailed.

"Come on, Ritsu-kun, it's all right," Kisa took his hand. "We really will be more comfortable in the living room," she smiled. He smiled back gratefully.

"Oh, good, snacks!" exclaimed Shigure as we all sat down around the small table. It really wasn't meant to seat nine people, but we actually would be more comfortable in the larger space than in the kitchen.

It took me until then to notice: "Wait, where's Tohru and Yuki?"

"I got them out of the house with Momiji," said Haru. "I suggested they go to the park or the marketplace or something."

"Well, let's get down to business, shall we?" said Shigure, leaning in. "Kyo-kun needs help to capture the attention and the heart of his beloved! What ideas can we come up with to make this possible?"

For the first twenty minutes of our conversation, I was utterly mortified. Ayame and Shigure were not actually coming up with very romantic ideas so much as lustful. I was sure that if they talked about getting us into a closet together one more time, I was going to be sick.

But I was grateful when Kisa and Kagura turned things in a more innocent direction and I could stop yelling at the perverts to shut the hell up.

"What about something more traditional?" Haru asked, following Kisa's lead.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, have Kyo take Tohru out for a date! A sort of day-on-the-town thing?"

There were murmurs of "Oh, that's cute," and "That's sweet," and "You're all stupid." (Hiro wasn't feeling very optimistic about all of this.)

"Uh, guys. How will she _not_ know it's a date?" I asked, seeing the major flaw in this first, apparently.

"Easy! She's _Tohru_," said Ayame, smiling. "She won't see it as a date, she'll see it as a day out with a friend! It's up to _you_ to make it a date."

I understood what they were all saying, and I was definitely excited t the idea to go out on a date with Tohru, but there were still things wrong with this idea. "But what about Yuki? And Tohru's innocent – not stupid. She _could_ figure it out. And Momiji's been trailing her _everywhere_, not that that didn't help us today…"

"That's fine, we can take care of Yuki, right?" said Kagura. "We'll keep him busy. Maybe if Hiro-kun and Kisa -chan–"

"What, just because we're kids, you think we'll make the perfect distraction? That's a little presumptuous, isn't it?" Hiro huffed.

"Well, actually, that sort of _was_ what I was thinking…" Kagura said quietly, blushing. "Kisa's innocent and believable enough, and you could go along for the backbone… It should be only too easy to keep Yuki from figuring out where Kyo-kun and Tohru-chan are."

"I think it's a good idea. Do you want to help me, Hiro?" Kisa asked, smiling at him.

He blushed and replied reluctantly, "Yeah. Of course."

Ha. That was the good thing about Hiro: he was willing to do anything for Kisa, and Kisa was willing to do anything to help me with Tohru. Ergo, _he_ was willing to do anything to help me with Tohru.

"So, what will we do when we're 'out on the town'?" I asked, expecting the worst. Closets, mostly.

"I figured you could take her out to the movies, and out for food, and ask _her_ what _she _wants to do. You'll find something," Shigure smiled at me giddily.

"Oh, well, that's not too horrible. I was expecting much, much worse," I told him.

"I'm hurt, Kyo-kun. That you expect the worst of us," Ayame put his hand over his heart and closed his eyes.

"I'm sure you'll get over it," I told him sarcastically, smirking at him.

"Hey, everyone, we're back!" Tohru called. "Oh!" she stopped short. "What are you all doing here?" Yuki's eyes were wide and startled as he took in the sight of most of his family sitting in the living room.

"Sissy!" Kisa leaped up and hugged Tohru tight, and Tohru smiled and hugged her back, still looking bewildered.

"Yes, what _are_ you all doing here?" Yuki asked, crossing his arms. Momiji came into the room then, too, and looked at all of us suspiciously, especially me.

I came up with the quickest and easiest idea that I could. "Well, you know, Hiro-kun's birthday is in a couple of weeks, and we wanted to help him plan it out! But we thought it would be easier to all come here, rather than the main house," I babbled, praying that they'd believe me.

"Oh!" Tohru smiled, obviously placated. "I didn't know! I'll have to run out and get you something!"

"Uh, you don't have to… I mean, yeah, 'cause it's my birthday, so…" Hiro looked confused and upset, now that he was put into the spotlight. Kisa smiled at him and patted his arm, calming him somewhat though he blushed.

"So I guess we'll just go…?" Yuki still looked suspicious, but gestured in a vague direction.

I knew that for them to believe us, we'd have to keep this up. I _almost_ felt sorry for Hiro. _Almost._ "No, we need you three to help us!" Kagura said, speaking my mind. Whoa…she was scary…

"Oh, okay!" Tohru smiled at sat down on my left, and Yuki sat on the side of the table next to her. But she was actually sitting _next_ to me… I smiled. Momiji planted himself next to Kisa, still looking suspicious and almost angry at me. "So, what have we planned so far?"

The original eight of us looked at each other nervously. Then we all started muttering things at once. "Well, we're going to get balloons – _lots_ of balloons!"

"We're planning on a huge cake, four layers! Chocolate, lemon, strawberry, vanilla –"

"We'll have the party here, there's enough space for all of us –"

I stopped muttering about streamers and smiled at my new army. They were _good._ They could improvise like _this_? I could trust them with Yuki. Things might _actually_ turn out well for me. Hmm. That'd be a first!

Of course, now we had a party to plan, too...

Oh well. The way it looked, Tohru and a few of the others would have it done in only a few hours. No need to worry. I just needed to plan for my first date…

**A/N: Come on. I HAD to include the family. Well, not Akito, but… Can you really see Akito trying to get Kyo and Tohru started in a romantic relationship? You can? Well, that's for your fanfic then, not mine ;) Hope you like it!**


	12. Well, It STARTED Out Great

**A/N: SOOOOOOORYY! *Cries* I'm so sorry! My life has been just SO hectic lately and I haven't had time to update! I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry! I won't be late with the last two chapters, 'kay? It'll be Chapter 13 on August 13. Ironic, huh? Thank you!**

Kyo's POV

"Hey, uh, Tohru!" I called out to her. "Let me help you with those!" She was walking up the path to the house, laden down with grocery bags. She had four in her arms and one treacherously balanced on her head.

"Oh, thank you, Kyo-kun!" She smiled, and I took the one off of her head and two from her arms.

"No problem," I said, blushing slightly. "So, uh… Any other plans for the day?" I tried to sound casual. Today was the day we had planned for my day-on-the-town with Tohru and since it was still ten in the morning, and Yuki was at a stupid student council meeting, I figured this would be as good a time as any to invite Tohru out, especially while we had so much time left in the day.

"No, not really. Wait, today's Wednesday, right?"

"Tuesday, actually."

"Oh, good, I don't have to work today. So, no other plans!"

"Cool! Um, so would you maybe want to – I mean, you don't _have_ to, but if you _want_ to, maybe you could spend the day with me? I'm – uh – lonely. Bored. Um, whichever works for you." Gah! I sounded like a blithering idiot!

But Tohru smiled again, kindly and playfully. "Sure, Kyo-kun! Where do you want to go?"

"Where do _you_ want to go?"

She thought. "The zoo!" she grinned.

I smiled back. "That sounds like fun. What do you want to see?"

"The tigers! And the monkeys! And the boars! And the koalas!"

Okay, that _last_ one was random… "Okay, let's go," I started walking.

At the zoo, I bought the tickets and we went in. Tohru paid to feed the koi in the large pond underneath the monkey exhibit. She had fun examining almost every animal, no matter how briefly we visited their enclosure. She collected souvenirs along the way: a water bottle shaped like an elephant, a stamped coin with a panda on it, and a floppy hat with pandas embroidered around the rim.

We looked in on owls and lions and okapi, and got to feed a few of the animals. I scowled when we went into the reptile house and saw a snake that looked a lot like Ayame. But Tohru laughed. "Look, Kyo-kun! Doesn't it look like Ayame-san?"

"Yeah. Striking resemblance." The snake was apparently going through a rough period in his life, as he was slithering in circles around his tank, hitting his head against the glass whenever he could, apparently on purpose. "Acts like him too, the idiot."

Tohru laughed again. "Oh, don't be mean!" But she was still giggling. Once we'd checked the directories and made sure that we'd seen literally every animal in the zoo, we left. It was already three o'clock, but already, I was having the most fun I ever had, just walking around and talking about animals with Tohru.

"What do you want to do now, Kyo-kun?"

"How about we go to the movies?"

"The movies? Okay. Anything good playing?"

I thought about that. I didn't remember the last time I'd heard anything like a new good movie coming out. "Uh. Probably not."

She laughed. "Well, we'll see, won't we?"

"Yeah…"

When we got to the theater, there really was nothing good playing. There were a couple of chick flicks, three action, an animated film, an old remake, and a horror film. I considered the horror – Tohru might hold onto me when she was scared, and that sounded great – but at the same time, I didn't really want her to be scared. And what if she cried? No, count that one out.

Eventually, I chose the animated film. It looked good enough. It was fantasy, with knights and dragons, and murder and romance, and all of that, and Tohru seemed glad that I'd chosen that one.

I was glad, too, after a while. When the knight thought the dragon was dead, but it leaped back out of the pit, Tohru turned and clung to my chest. When something unexpected happened, Tohru gasped and held my hand. And when the knight and the princess kissed at the end, she put her head on my shoulder. It felt like such a short time we'd been out, but it was still the best day of my life.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her when we'd gotten out of the theater and Tohru had stopped talking about all of her favorite parts of the movie.

"Yes, actually. Do you want to go home?"

"What if we eat out? My treat?" Tohru looked unsure. "Please?"

"Okay… Where do you want to go?"

We found a place only a block from the theater where I could have what I had a sudden craving for: chicken dumplings. Specifically Tohru's chicken dumplings, but I figured the restaurant's had to be better.

We grabbed a booth and ordered our food and two glasses of water. "Enjoy your meal," said the waitress, bringing the food to the table. Starving, I immediately took a bite. The problem wasn't that it was scorching hot, but that it didn't taste right. I mean, it was good, but not as good as I'd expected it to be.

"Do you like the dumplings? I think they're the best I've ever tasted!" Tohru smiled, taking a sip of water.

"I've had better," I muttered.

"Really? Where?"

I hesitated. This would be one of the moments that Haru had told me about, when I was able to make her feel good with a casual, genuine compliment. "At home," I blushed.

She blushed, too. "Thank you, Kyo-kun! I do try my best."

"I prefer the tuna ones, though," I said, taking another bite. "But yeah, it's my favorite." She looked immensely pleased with herself, which I enjoyed watching.

After dinner, we went to a small ice cream parlor and bought a couple of cones, then went for a walk in the park. With how well the day had been going, my confidence had been built up and I took Tohru's hand easily, not missing a beat. She didn't seem to mind, either, which I was glad for. Soon, we threw our empty cones away and continued on our path, holding hands and watching the sun sink slowly down under the horizon.

"It's beautiful," I breathed, as we sat down on a bench.

"It is," Tohru agreed, also sighing. I felt her tense a little next to me. "Kyo…" she said a little awkwardly. I was very aware that she'd left off the suffix from my name. "Kyo, there's something that I think I should have told you… With me and Yuki… I think it was a–"

"YOU! What the _hell_ are you doing with my girlfriend?" Tohru and I spun around quicker than I knew was remotely possible. Yuki was running towards us, wearing his dangerous _what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing-trying-to-steal-my-girlfriend _expression.

"NOTHING! WHAT THE HELL ARE _YOU _DOING WITH _MY_ GIRLFRIEND?" Yuki and I both paused, suddenly aware that my words made no sense. "Well, NOTHING!"

Suddenly, Kagura came running up with Kisa, both of whom were panting. "GOTCHA!" Kagura yelled, jumping on Yuki's back and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Kagura, get _off_ of me! This is _not_ funny!"

Kisa came straight to me and muttered into my ear, still panting, "I'm so sorry, Kyo-kun! We tried to keep him busy, but he got away from us! We couldn't find him! And he just ran here! I don't know how he found you!"

"It's okay, Kisa. Doesn't matter. I'll worm my way out of this. Were you guys convincing?"

"Well, Ritsu wasn't a very good actor all the time, but I think we were okay!"

"Well, then, hopefully this will be okay…"

She nodded and jogged back to where Kagura seemed to be attempting to choke the poor bastard to death. He finally managed to get her off and she tumbled to the ground. Kisa started dusting her off as Yuki got his voice back and started yelling. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" he roared at me. I'd almost _never_ seen him this upset. But, naturally, anger took me over, too.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK WE WERE DOING? ASK TOHRU!"

Tohru looked terrified. "Yuki… We were just taking a walk! Kyo-kun was bored and lonely, he said, so we went to the zoo and the movies, and to get something to eat!"

"So you spent the day together…as friends?" Yuki said, trying not to direct any anger at his girlfriend.

"Yes!" Tohru and I said at the same time.

He looked skeptical. "Okay… Tohru, let's go home." He put his arm around her shoulders and started leading her away, the remaining three of us looking after them. Kagura had a scrape on her knee, and Kisa looked shocked.

"I…I can't believe… It wasn't supposed to end this way…" she muttered, upset.

"We should go, too," said Kagura, standing up and talking to me. "Kisa and I still have to get to the main house tonight."

I nodded mutely. I was too angry for words. Angry…and something else… more than jealousy, I knew what that felt like. It was… I don't know. Silencing. Paralyzing. Stifling.

I started walking down the same path Yuki and Tohru had taken, not waiting for the other two. I felt like a robot. My limbs were stiff, and I walked the path automatically, not having to think about it. It's like my legs were telling me where to go, and, too empty-headed to object, I followed their command.

It got darker as I walked. When I got to the house, I didn't even think about it, I just started climbing up the windows, finding handholds where I could. Then I clambered onto the roof. I spread out on the slant of the house's top, putting my hands behind my head and crossing my legs. _I must look relaxed,_ I thought, the first real one for some time. _But I'm definitely not._ Only as I thought it did I realize it was true. My whole body now felt stiff, like I'd been lying still for months and months on end. My mouth felt dry, my head felt thick and foggy, my fingertips felt numb – they had that feeling about them that like they were filled with sand or salt. Overall, I hurt. A lot. And eventually, I realized, not just my body, but my mind hurt. My chest hurt, too, but not on the outside.

I stared up at the sky which, although it was only just now turning pink and purple, was filling slowly with glittering stars. Some seemed close enough to touch, and others seemed like they were: hundreds and thousands and millions of miles and possibly light years away.

I remembered the evenings that I'd spent up here with Tohru, and how this was where I was supposed to tell her that I loved her, and my chest tightened. I realized that it literally hurt to think about her. _That's stupid,_ I told myself. _It's all psychosomatic. _But it didn't just seem to be in my head. It was all over, but especially in my chest and head. As I tried _not_ to think about that stupid girl, my head started to hurt more, and eventually, I ended up with a full-blown migraine, laying on the roof in head-splitting agony. I ignored it though, refusing to lay down inside or get medicine or anything. Not like I was thinking "feel the pain; love the pain!" or anything, but I just didn't really care that it was there.

There. That was a good description of how I was feeling: I didn't care. About _anything. _Not about Tohru or her stupid boyfriend, not stupid Shigure, not Haru, or Kisa, or Kagura, or any of my family, or the stupid curse, or the damned rain that was now soaking me to the bone. It was cold – I didn't care. I hate the wet – I didn't care. The shingles felt almost uncomfortable through my thin, soaked-through shirt – I didn't care. I'd go inside eventually. Then I fell asleep on the roof.

A few hours later, I woke up. It had stopped raining, but my clothes and hair were still soaked. I sneezed. I had a cold… I didn't care.

**A/N: Poor guy. I want Happy Kyo back (Maybe next chapter! Teehee!) No, seriously. Next chapter's the last! Review! Hope you've liked this story so far! **


	13. Happy Freaking Birthday

Haru's POV

I'd never seen Kyo more depressed. I'd seen him happy, disappointed, confused, conflicted, awkward, angry, furious, peeved, startled, guilty, ashamed, nervous, shocked, tired, energetic, dreamy, dazed, sick, passionate, determined, courageous, frightened, sad…but not _this_ sad.

Shigure called me the morning of the day after Kyo and Tohru's date/day-out. "Hey, Shigure-sensei, do you know how it went? Are they together? Is Yuki devastated?"

"Actually, it's Kyo who's devastated."

"What? What happened?" I was instantly concerned for my friend.

"Well… Yuki got away from us while Kisa, Kagura, Aaya and I had him finger-painting…" he sounded sheepish.

"You made him do finger-painting? Well no _wonder_ he ran away!" I exclaimed, annoyed.

"Hey, finger-painting is a very entertaining and popular past-time!"

"FOR FOUR-YEAR-OLDS!"

He paused. "Fine, I get it. Finger-painting is not a great activity for teenagers. Point is, Yuki got away and went straight to the park, right as they were sitting on a bench, romantically watching the sunset."

"Ouch," I grimaced.

"Yes, ouch," he agreed. "Kisa said Yuki started yelling and demanded to know what Kyo was doing with his girlfriend. Then Kagura choked him –"

"What? That seems pretty drastic! Is he okay?"

"Oh, yeah, he's fine. He got Kagura off of him and kept yelling. Tohru acted the way we thought she would, saying that they were just spending a friendly day together. I know he's still suspicious, but he seems happy enough. Tohru's worried, but she seems overall content, as well. Kyo, on the other hand…"

"Is he yelling at everyone like a maniac?"

"Actually, he's absolutely silent."

I hadn't expected that. Usually, when Kyo had been disappointed or got angry, he just bit everyone's heads off with his fury, the yelling never ceasing. If he was silent, then he was…sad? Depressed. "So he's depressed?"

"That's what I would call it," Shigure sighed. "He won't talk, and won't come out of his room. Originally, he was on the roof, but then it rained and he got a cold."

"Oh, is he better now?"

"Well, he's still sneezing some, but he should be game for Hiro's party tomorrow, as I'm forcing him to go. He doesn't have to socialize, just attend."

"Okay. See you later, then?"

"Are you coming over?"

"Yes, I think I should see him. Maybe talk him out of his depression?"

"If you think you can," sighed Shigure again. "Why don't you bring Momiji and your school things and you can just sleep over here? Tell Haa-san I'll make sure you're ready for school on Monday."

"Okay, thanks! See you!"

"Bye-e-e-e!" Shigure sang into the phone.

I'd come over about an hour later with Momiji and my school things like Shigure had suggested, and went straight up to Kyo's room.

He was laying on the bed, curled in the fetal position, his back to the door. He didn't give any sign that he'd heard me come in. "Kyo?" I asked, but there was no response. I walked around to face him and was shocked. His face was a pale, sickly gray, which I figured was left over from the cold. His eyes were open, staring straight ahead, but glazed over. His state made me think that he hadn't left his bed in weeks, though it had been less than a day. "Kyo! My GOD, what _happened _to you?"

"Haru…" he breathed. He sounded like he was on his death bed or something, and my name was a faded memory he had to try desperately to remember and say out loud.

"God, Kyo, what happened?"

"Well," he coughed, clearing his throat, "she chose him. She went back with him. I didn't win her over. I'm pretty much done for."

"So you're just going to sit here and rot? You're going to let him win?"

"She wants him, not me. Why not?"

"THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO NOW!" I yelled, now infuriated.

He scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion. "What…?"

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO NEVER GIVE UP! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PLOT WITH ME SOME MORE! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO WANT TO GET HER BACK!" I ranted loudly. "If you give up now, you'll never forgive yourself," I said, quieter. "You _know_ it's true."

He sighed. "Yeah. I do. But there's nothing left _to_ do. Our date ended up a disaster, and she still chose him! There's nothing else I can try!"

"You see it as the date was a disaster and that she chose him. I see it that Tohru let you hold her hand. Tohru helped fix your ankle. Tohru let you help her with her homework and stay in her room for a night. Tohru let you take her out, to the movies, to the zoo, out to dinner, and on a walk. Tohru let you get in close, and you did the same. You don't consider that an accomplishment? _Many_ accomplishments?"

He looked mildly surprised. "I – I didn't think about it that way."

"See! So you've come far! And I'm here to help you go farther!"

"Yeah – yeah, you're right!" he sat up on the bed, a little color back in his face and a determined expression put upon it. "This is no time to give up! I still have a chance! Right?"

"Absolutely!" I was a little surprised that I really _had_ made a difference, but glad.

"Um. When?"

"Duh!" An idea came to me right as I was telling Kyo about it. "Tomorrow's Hiro's birthday party! And the day after that is Tohru's birthday! Make it up to her tomorrow!"

"Okay! …How?"

"First, try being a decent human being."

"Hey, was that a jab at me?" Kyo looked a little irritated.

"You're angry. So it's working," I smirked.

"Well, whatever. What do I do?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Kyo's POV

I'd never been that depressed. I really _was _depressed, I discovered. My I-don't-care feeling was depression. But Haru snapped me out of it as quickly and slowly as it had started. Soon, I was ready to go into action and really win Tohru over! Our new strategy: hard-to-get.

We couldn't think of anything else, and while this idea had seemed stupid a few days ago, it didn't sound so horrible now, especially while we were getting desperate.

So the next day came, and it was Hiro's birthday party. As three of us were the ones who'd thought of this at a moment's notice, Shigure, Haru, Momiji and I were the only ones really doing anything for the party. Tohru and Yuki were sitting in plain sight in the kitchen, having a heated discussion. I wished I could read lips so badly it hurt, but I had no idea what they were saying. And I was so tired from not having slept since the night on the roof, I couldn't even interpret what their expressions were supposed to be.

Momiji had set up red, blue and green stage lights all around the room and found some modern-sounding music to blast at almost full volume. I taped gold streamers around the main space, and Haru quickly inflated a few dozen helium balloons and a few oxygen balloons, letting some float to the ceiling and others sit on the floor decoratively. Shigure spread a short red tablecloth over the table where we'd put the food and stuff, and filled a faux glass punchbowl with a reddish-pink liquid that smelled like citrus.

Only about a half hour later, the others showed up. Kisa, Kagura, Hatori, Ayame, Ritsu, and Hiro, the guest of honor, walked through the door, most carrying presents, others noisemakers and party hats. "Happy Birthday, Hiro!" called out Shigure, Momiji, and Haru (not so enthusiastically on Haru's part).

"Yeah, happy freaking birthday, punk," I said to Hiro. "Enjoy your party."

"If I feel like," he replied easily, though his eyes betrayed his irritation.

"Come on, Hiro-kun! Let's go find something to do!" Kisa took Hiro's hand and he blushed brightly, leading him away. I knew that would probably be his best birthday present.

"Happy Birthday, Hiro-kun!" Tohru said, coming out of the kitchen with a cake in her arms.

"Yes, I've been told…" I heard Hiro call sarcastically over the music.

Tohru set down the cake on the table and I saw Yuki come out of the kitchen. He took a few steps forward, glared at me furiously for a few moments, and then joined the party, seeming to have to try to talk good-naturedly to the birthday boy. Once Tohru had neatly arranged thirteen candles on the chocolate and vanilla cake, she took off her apron and threw it onto the kitchen counter. Considering her distance, her aim was quite admirable. Gah, she was so attractive when she baked…

Hours later, I'd been… Well, "enjoying" was too strong a word, but I hadn't been miserable at the party. Mostly, I'd hung around Haru, not moving around much, and getting only a little food. Kisa was sticking close to Hiro, which was keeping him happy, and everyone else seemed to be having a good time. Tohru had been talking to Kagura, but suddenly she turned toward me and smiled shyly, blushing. She took a few steps in my direction. _OH CRAP! _My mind yelled at me. _OKAY REMEMBER THE PLAN! COOL AND IMPASSIVE! COOL AND IMPASSIVE! BE HARD-TO-GET! _

"Hi, Kyo-kun," she said softly.

I almost lost my nerve, and I for-sure felt myself blushing, too, but I kept my apathetic expression. "Hey."

She didn't seem fazed by my lack of enthusiastic response. She took my hand and pulled me outside of the house, into the starry darkness. "So, what I was trying to tell you earlier, about Yuki and I–"

"Yeah. Seems pretty upset, doesn't he," I said in a monotone voice. I checked the watch I'd put on my wrist just for this sort of occasion: to seem busy and distracted; like I had better things to do.

She suddenly looked a little sad and a lot guilty. "Yes, he does…" she sighed. "Anyway, um, a couple of days ago, what I was trying to say–"

"Yeah, you know, that was a great day," I said, interrupting again and looking away from her. "Lots of fun."

"It definitely was, but like I was saying –"

"That punch looks pretty good; I might have to get some of –"

"Will you listen to me for just one second?" Tohru interrupted _me_ finally, almost yelling, which surprised me. I quieted and turned back to her.

"Uh, yeah. What is it?" I said, still trying to sound sort of flippant.

"Look! The other day when I was trying to tell you something about Yuki, it was this: I don't think we're working out."

My eyes bulged. "What."

"Things just don't feel right. I love Yuki more as a brother or a friend, but not romantically. I never really pictured myself with him. There's someone else…"

"Oh. My. God. You _finally_ break up with him and there's _someone else_ I have to compete with! JEEZ! Give me a break! Haru and I have worked _so hard_!" I was appalled and, honestly, infuriated.

Apparently, she was surprised, too. "W-What?" she crinkled her brow.

"EVERYTHING! Holding your hand walking home, crashing into you, taking you out – it was all to try and get your attention!" I felt the words spilling out of me, unstoppable. I was telling her everything, but I just couldn't shut up. "I was hoping the entire time that you'd give up on Rat Boy and fall for me instead! I felt for _sure_ in the theater when you held onto me that I'd finally gotten your attention, but my GOD!" I yelled. "THERE'S SOMEONE _ELSE?_ YOU DON'T KNOW HOW LONG ALL OF THIS FREAKING PLANNING TOOK!"

She looked shocked. I noticed out of my peripheral vision that only Haru had noticed my yelling. He had come out of the house and was standing a ways behind Tohru, observing our talking intently. He, too, seemed horrified.

"Kyo…" Tohru began hesitantly.

"WHAT?"

She hesitated, then whispered, "_You're_ the someone else…"

I was instantly emotionless. My stomach seemed to drop to my feet and my brain spilled out of my ears, leaving everything in between them empty. "W-W-What?" I stuttered. Haru stood gaping, his mouth practically hitting the ground.

Tohru blushed brightly. "I never thought I'd end up with Yuki. I never thought I'd end up with you, either, but that's because I thought it would never happen. But I think… Kyo, do you love me?"

My mouth had fallen open, too, but I quickly got a hold of myself and replied, "Yes, Tohru! I do, I love you!"

She grinned. "I love you too, Kyo." She looked away from me shyly. "Will… Will you be my first kiss?"

Without answering her, I picked her up and spun her around in my arms, bringing my lips to meet hers. I carefully wrapped my arms around her thin waist and she put hers around my neck. She had to tip-toe to reach, which I thought was cute, but I just picked her up and held her so she wouldn't have to stretch.

I opened my eyes just a bit to find Haru. He was smirking, now, one hand on his hip. He winked at me. "Told you so," he mouthed. "Hard-to-get. Works every time."

I grinned through our kiss and suddenly had a thought. This party had been going on for a while… I broke apart from Tohru and she looked at me confusedly as I studied my watch in the dark. It was five minutes after midnight. She saw, too. "It's my birthday…" she whispered wonderingly. "I got my first kiss for my birthday…!"

I grinned at her crookedly. "Happy freaking birthday."

End -

**A/N: SO HOW'D YOU LIKE IT? I very much like the ending, though I feel it might be a little rushed… What do you think? Can I beg you to review? Ha, it's already SO amazing how many of you have favorite and reviewed this story! My email makes me happy ever day showing me who's added me to their Watch list and Favorites and whatnot! Makes my day! I got the BEST comment I've ever had a while ago, and I swear, I nearly had a heart attack! Thanks, **

**Well, I've LOVED writing this story, and now it's really over! I'll probably be working on some Harry Potter or Hunger Games or Percy Jackson and I have a few ideas for a Willet (Wilbur and Violet – the Incredibles and Meet the Robinsons), but I don't think I'll get around to that for a while *tear*. If you have any requests or ideas, talk to me! I'd LOVE to talk with you! **

**I don't always have all the time I'd like to write, but I try! Thank you for reading! I love you all! 3**


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